I’m sure many if not all of us would find it unbelievable to get arrested for placing flowers on your fiancée’s grave, but sadly this is the reality for an Alabama gentleman.
As a result of repeatedly placing flowers at his fiancée’s grave since her death, police convicted the man, Winston “Winchester” Hagans, of criminal littering and demanded he pay a $300 fine.
Seems strange right? Well there’s another important point to the story: his fiancée’s father did not approve of their relationship.
Rev. Tom Ford, the father of the late fiancée Hannah Ford, decided to file a complaint against Hagans after he continued to leave flowers and pictures of the couple behind at Hannah’s gravesite.
Judge Jim McLaughlin determined Hagans to be guilty of the crime and ordered him to pay $50 littering fine and $250 court charge. Additionally, the judge has suspended Hagan’s 30-day jail sentence, so long he he stops visiting the gravesite to place flowers.
More details of this bizarre story from Daily Wire:
Ford was killed in a three-car crash on January 17th, 2021, roughly a mile from her home, according to KIRO 7. Her father owns the deed to the grave, located at a cemetery operated by the City of Auburn, and the City Prosecutor Justin Clark stated in court that according to city regulations, “benches, urns, boxes, shells, toys and other similar articles are not permitted to be placed or maintained on any lot of grave in said cemetery,” reported Opelika-Auburn News.
Hagans said that Ford’s family never directly told him to stop leaving the boxes, although the family disapproved of the relationship and asked him not to come to Hannah’s funeral.
Sari Card, the administrative assistant of Auburn Parks and Recreation, testified that she had spoken with Hagans several times about the problem with the planter boxes.
“He said he didn’t care,” Card told the court, according to Opelika-Auburn News. “[He said] that every time a box is removed he would make another one to replace it.”
In a statement to The Washington Post, David Dorton, a spokesperson for the city of Auburn, explained, “Any citizen has the right to pursue a criminal charge against another upon showing that sufficient probable cause exists to believe that a crime has been committed.”
“I find no joy to be here, and I did everything I could not to be here,” Rev. Ford told the court, reported Opelika-Auburn News.
“… I don’t get paid to have emotions or to rule on what’s right, or what’s nice, or what’s moral, or what’s Christian,” Judge McLaughlin said. “I’m paid to rule on the law and the facts. When you take all the other out of it … you got a deed that says no boxes. You got a gentleman who’s been told no boxes by the City of Auburn uncontroverted testimony. You got a gentleman who says — this frankly is where I lose my patience — ‘I don’t care what the rules are and what the law says, I’m gonna do what I want.’”
Before his conviction, Hagans thanked friends and family who had supported him during his grief and subsequent legal battle on Facebook. “It means more to me than you will ever know,” he wrote. “It has honestly saved my life.”
Hagans’ defense attorney Jeff Tickal has made plans to file an appeal, which if granted, will move the case to the Lee County Circuit Court, dropping the initial fines and fees.
Sources: DailyWire, KIRO 7, Opelika-Auburn News
