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House Votes to
Protect Alaska Cemeteries
Whitaker's HB 187 Would
Criminalize Graveyard Vandalism

(JUNEAU) - The House voted unanimously today to pass House Bill 187, which would make vandalizing a cemetery, gravestone or other memorial a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and $50,000 in fines.

Alaska law currently offers no clear criminal penalty for violating the dignity of the resting places of the dead, despite an alarming level of such vandalism, said Rep. Jim Whitaker (R-Fairbanks), who sponsored HB 187. Laws that may apply rely simply on the monetary value of the damage, and ignore the personal insult and emotional injury of such crimes.

"A small part of maintaining a civilized society is honoring those who have died, and punishing those who would dishonor those who have preceded us is but a small part of providing that honor," Whitaker said. "From time to time we as legislators reach out with the heavy hand of the law because the act we condemn is so egregious we need to state so clearly in law, and this bill does so."

HB 187 makes it a class C felony to deface, damage or desecrate a cemetery or its contents, or a tomb, grave or memorial regardless of whether it is inside a cemetery, or appears to be abandoned or neglected. It also covers removal of human remains of burial artifacts from a gravesite. It would exempt cemetery employees or other authorized persons with a legitimate need to move such materials for relocation, maintenance, or other purposes.

HB 187 moves next to the Senate for consideration.

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