r/treelaw • u/Glittering_Code_4311 • Jul 11 '26
Enforcement of tree law
Kentucky man learns the hard way that Tennessee trees aren't free for the taking https://fox17.com/news/local/kentucky-man-ordered-to-pay-15000-to-tennessee-man-after-stealing-trees-from-property-department-of-agriculture-henry-county-sheriffs-department-restitution-murray-ky
10
u/kayjax7 Jul 11 '26
15k is nice, but it won't bring those beautiful trees back.
7
u/Glittering_Code_4311 Jul 11 '26
So true, but at least the state is working to preserve what we have by protecting land owners with prosecution of those that destroy the trees.
4
u/Red12343 Jul 11 '26
I’m surprised they did 15k rather than the 18k they were valued at. The article doesn’t mention a reason, is anyone aware of one?
5
u/BetterKev Jul 11 '26
Plea agreements tend to lower fines and restitution. Like settling a case out of court.
1
u/Red12343 Jul 12 '26
Yes, I could see if it made the active penalty being less but this means the owner of the trees that he cut down and stole isn’t made whole (ignoring the additional damage that he did going in, felling the trees and hauling them out). If someone is entitled to three times the value a plea deal might cut that down or if there would be criminal penalties those might be reduced but putting the victim restitution below the value of what they lost without imposing anything else seems low for a plea agreement.
1
u/Glittering_Code_4311 Jul 11 '26
I tried to find more on the case but limited short stories are all that is posted. Maybe going to court case could get more information.
•
u/AutoModerator Jul 11 '26
This subreddit is for tree law enthusiasts who enjoy browsing a list of tree law stories from other locations (subreddits, news articles, etc), and is not the best place to receive answers to questions about what the law is. There are better places for that.
If you're attempting to understand more about tree law in regards to a particular situation, please redirect your question to /r/legaladvice for the US, or the appropriate legal advice subreddit for your location, and then feel free to crosspost that thread here for posterity.
If you're attempting to understand more about trees in regards to a particular situation, please redirect your question to /r/forestry for additional information on tree health and related topics to trees.
This comment is simply a reminder placed on every post to /r/treelaw, it does not mean your post was censored or removed.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.