(NewsNation) — The recent arrest of a homeless man at an East Nashville, Tennessee, park has revived debate over relatively new state laws that prohibit camping on public property.
Joseph Williams, 49, was charged last month under a 2022 statute that makes it a felony to sleep overnight in parks and other public locations. He reportedly is one of the first people to be prosecuted under the law, which is considered the strictest “no camping” measure in the nation.
Williams ultimately pleaded to a lesser charge and was sentenced to the nine days he’d spent in jail.
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“I’m just trying to plead to get out of here,” he told National Public Radio this month…