It is that time of year again. Halloween is upon us and children everywhere are thrilled at the opportunity to go door to door and collect their mini Snickers. But the adults and teenagers look past the sugar highs and aim their attention to adrenaline highs and extreme scares. Before you think the perfect Halloween night is lighting candles at the cemetery and trying to summon the dead through a séance, remember these Minnesota Statutes.
In Minnesota, under 609.605, subd, 1(b)(6), a person is guilty of a misdemeanor trespass if they are found to have intentionally entered into or is found on the premises of a public or private cemetery during posted closed hours, unless you’ve been explicitly authorized to be there.
Therefore, save the trips to the cemetery for regular hours. On top of that, make sure you bring your own candles and flowers because another Minnesota Statute serves to protect not only the human remains but the burial grounds on which they have been placed.
Under Minnesota Statute 307.08, subd. 2(b)(1) and (2), a person is guilty of a gross misdemeanor damage to property if they remove any tombstone, monument, structure, grave goods or artifacts, or other work erected for protection or ornament placed in any public or private cemetery. If the movie Annabelle did not already deter you from stealing potentially haunted dolls or goods of the dead, this statute sure should. The Minnesota legislature affords equal treatment and respect for the human dignity of all human remains and burial sites, and you should too.