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Tennessee charges homeless man under felony camping law

newsJul 21, 202615262

Joseph Lamont Williams was charged with felony camping after he refused to leave a public park in Tennessee where he had lived under a picnic pavilion for years, one of the first prosecutions under the state’s new camping ban. Tennessee prosecutors brought two felony counts; the maximum penalty for felony camping in the state is six years in prison. Williams pled to a lesser charge and was released after nine days in jail. The case comes as camping bans have increased nationally; the National Homelessness Law Center reports that eleven states passed such bans in the last four years and more than 300 municipalities adopted bans in the two years after the Supreme Court ruled cities can bar sleeping and camping in public. Advocates and commentators cited in coverage say the prosecution illustrates how enforcement of those bans can turn homelessness into criminal charges rather than directing people to housing or services. The immediate legal consequence for Williams was his brief jail stay after a plea; the broader consequence is likely increased scrutiny of how Tennessee and other jurisdictions enforce camping bans and whether more prosecutions will follow.

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