NASHVILLE, Tenn.– In the burgundy booth of a diner, John Lozier leaned in, lowered his voice and asked his friend a question he's carried for nearly two weeks."Joe, we haven't talked about when they arrested you," said Lozier, 73.The man across the table shrugged.
Dark sunglasses obscured his gaze.The plastic-sheathed menus still lay open on the table."They tased you?" Lozier pressed."Yeah," said Joseph Lamont Williams, 49, taking a swig of coffee.When he refused to leave the Nashville public park where he has lived for the past several years, Williams became one of a handful of homeless people in the country to be arrested and charged with a felony for camping on public property.Eleven states have passed homeless camping bans over the last four years, according to the National Homelessness Law Center.
In the two years since the U.S.Supreme Court ruled that cities can ban people from sleeping and camping in public, more than 300 municipalities have joined them.
Supporters of these laws say they enable public officials to enforce rules that already exist and provide incentive for unhoused people to seek shelter.But opponents call the laws cruel and say that an arrest record only makes it harder for those experiencing homelessness to secure a job or a home.
John Lozier sits with Joseph Williams.Lozier has befriended Williams over the last few years and in early July helped Williams after he was released from jail.
Erica Lynn for NPR hide caption The maximum penalty for felony camping in Tennessee is six years in prison.Williams pled to a lesser charge and was released from jail after nine days."The slickest thing was asking me if I knew what I was pleading to," Williams said.
"I'm just trying to plead to get out of here."Lozier, a neighbor and retired social worker who befriended Williams years ago while walking his dog th...