An Act To Increase the Penalties for Vandalizing a Cemetery
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 1071
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: SAVIELLO, CUSHING, DILL, BLACK
Amends: 17-A MRSA §507, 17-A MRSA §507-A, 17-A MRSA §507-B, 17-A MRSA §1324, 17-A MRSA §1325

Legislative Document 
No. 1071 
S.P. 374 
In Senate, March 24, 2015 
An Act To Increase the Penalties for Vandalizing a Cemetery 
Reference to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered 
printed. 
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST 
Secretary of the Senate 
Presented by Senator SAVIELLO of Franklin. 
Cosponsored by Senators: CUSHING of Penobscot, DILL of Penobscot, Representative: 
BLACK of Wilton. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  17-A MRSA §507, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1975, c. 499, §1, is amended 
to read: 
1.    A person is guilty of desecration and defacement if he the person intentionally 
desecrates any public monument or structure, any place of worship or burial, or any 
private structure not owned by him the person. 
Sec. 2.  17-A MRSA §507-A, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 326, §2, is 
repealed and the following enacted in its place: 
1.  A person is guilty of interference with a cemetery or burial ground if the person: 
A.  Intentionally or knowingly destroys, mutilates, defaces, injures or removes any 
tomb, monument, gravestone, marker, metal plaque, flag, flag holder or veteran's 
grave marker or other structure or thing placed or designed as a memorial or to 
protect a memorial for the dead, or any portion or fragment of any such memorial, or 
any fence, railing, curb or other enclosure for the burial of the dead, including 
damaging or destroying vegetation or a plant within an enclosure for the burial of the 
dead.  A violation of this paragraph is a Class C crime; 
B.  Intentionally or knowingly allows an animal under the person's ownership or 
control to destroy, mutilate, deface, injure or remove any tomb, monument, 
gravestone, marker, metal plaque, flag, flag holder or veteran's grave marker or other 
structure or thing placed or designed as a memorial or to protect a memorial for the 
dead, or any portion or fragment of any such memorial, or any fence, railing, curb or 
other enclosure for the burial of the dead, including damaging or destroying 
vegetation or a plant within an enclosure for the burial of the dead.  A violation of 
this paragraph is a Class C crime; or 
C.  Removes a flower, flag, flag holder or memorial token from any grave, tomb, 
monument or burial lot or owns or controls an animal that destroys, mutilates, 
defaces, injures or removes any tomb, monument, gravestone, marker, metal plaque, 
flag, flag holder or veteran's grave marker or other structure or thing placed or 
designed as a memorial or to protect a memorial for the dead, or any portion or 
fragment of any such memorial, or any fence, railing, curb or other enclosure for the 
burial of the dead, including damaging or destroying vegetation or a plant within an 
enclosure for the burial of the dead.  A violation of this paragraph is a Class D crime. 
Sec. 3.  17-A MRSA §507-A, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 326, §2, is 
repealed. 
Sec. 4.  17-A MRSA §507-A, sub-§4 is enacted to read: 
4.  The court shall order restitution under chapter 54 if a violation of subsection 1 
results in any damages or pecuniary loss.  If possible, damages must be calculated by an 
appropriate professional conservator. The following may be a claimant under section 
1324: 
A.  The municipality or, in the case of unorganized territory, the county in which the 
cemetery or burial ground is located; 
B.  A cemetery association authorized to bring suit and recover damages by the 
municipality or, in the case of unorganized territory, the county in which the 
cemetery or burial ground is located; 
C.  A historical society authorized to bring suit and recover damages by the 
municipality or, in the case of unorganized territory, the county in which the 
cemetery or burial ground is located; or 
D.  The estate, next of kin or lineal descendant of the deceased person whose grave 
site, burial ground, cemetery, tomb, gravestone, marker, metal plaque, flag, flag 
holder or veteran's grave marker or other structure or thing placed or designed as a 
memorial or to protect a memorial for the dead, or any portion or fragment of any 
such memorial, or any fence, railing, curb or other enclosure for the burial of the dead 
or vegetation or plant was damaged. 
Sec. 5.  17-A MRSA §507-B, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 326, §2, is amended to 
read: 
§507-B.  Illegal possession or sale of gravestones 
1.    No A person may not possess, sell, attempt to sell, offer for sale, transfer or 
dispose of any tomb, monument, gravestone, marker or other structure placed or designed 
as a memorial for the dead, or any portion or fragment of any such memorial a memorial, 
knowing or having reasonable cause to know that it has been illegally removed from a 
cemetery or burial ground.  For purposes of this section, "memorial" means any tomb, 
monument, gravestone, marker, metal plaque, flag, flag holder or veteran's grave marker 
or other structure placed or designed as a memorial for the dead, or any portion or 
fragment of any such memorial. 
2.    Any person who violates subsection 1 commits a Class C crime. 
3.    Any person who violates subsection 1 is liable to the following for triple 
damages to be recovered in a civil action:  
A.  The municipality or, in the case of unorganized territory, the county in which the 
cemetery or burial ground is located; 
B.  A cemetery association authorized to bring suit and recover damages by the 
municipality or, in the case of unorganized territory, the county in which the 
cemetery or burial ground is located; or 
C.  A historical society authorized to bring suit and recover damages by the 
municipality or, in the case of unorganized territory, the county in which the 
cemetery or burial ground is located.; or 
D.  The estate, next of kin or lineal descendant of the deceased whose memorial was 
illegally removed from the cemetery or burial ground. 
4.   The court shall order restitution under chapter 54 if a violation of subsection 1 
results in any damages or pecuniary loss.  If possible, damages must be calculated by an 
appropriate professional conservator. The following may be a claimant under section 
1324: 
A.  The municipality or, in the case of unorganized territory, the county in which the 
cemetery or burial ground is located; 
B.  A cemetery association authorized to bring suit and recover damages by the 
municipality or, in the case of unorganized territory, the county in which the 
cemetery or burial ground is located; 
C.  A historical society authorized to bring suit and recover damages by the 
municipality or, in the case of unorganized territory, the county in which the 
cemetery or burial ground is located; or 
D.  The estate, next of kin or lineal descendant of the deceased person whose 
memorial was damaged. 
Sec. 6.  17-A MRSA §1324, sub-§§3 and 4, as enacted by PL 1977, c. 455, §3, 
are amended to read: 
3.  Person providing recovery. Any person, firm, organization, corporation or 
government entity which that has provided recovery to the victim as a collateral source, 
but only to the extent that such recovery was actually made; and 
4.  Person acting on behalf of victim. Any person legally authorized to act on behalf 
of the victim.; and 
Sec. 7.  17-A MRSA §1324, sub-§5 is enacted to read: 
5.  Cemeteries and burial grounds.   A person authorized as a claimant under 
section 507-A, subsection 4 or 507-B, subsection 4. 
Sec. 8.  17-A MRSA §1325, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 157, §5, is 
amended to read: 
3.  Exception.  The provisions of subsection 2, paragraph D, do not apply to an 
offender which that is an organization or to a person who violates the provisions of 
section 507-A, subsection 4 or section 507-B, subsection 4. 
SUMMARY 
This bill: 
1.  Amends the laws regarding damaging cemeteries and burial grounds by including 
damage to metal plaques, flags, flag holders, veteran's grave markers, vegetation and 
plants and adding damage created by an animal owned by or in the control of a person 
and by increasing the class of the crime from Class D to Class C; 
2. Designates as a Class D crime a person's removing a flower, flag, flag holder or 
other memorial token from a burial ground without permission to do so or owning or 
controlling an animal that damages or destroys property in a cemetery or burial ground; 
3. Adds metal plaques, flags, flag holders and veteran's grave markers to the crime of 
illegal possession or sale of gravestones; 
4. Amends the restitution provisions in the law by expanding the list of authorized 
claimants to the crimes of interference with a cemetery or burial ground and illegal 
possession or sale of gravestones and removes from the consideration of the court the 
defendant's inability to pay; and 
5. Expands the list of claimants who may bring a civil suit with treble damages for 
the illegal possession or sale of gravestones.