Brittany Patterson, 41, said she was shocked that her son's stroll could lead to a criminal charge.

Summary

Brittany Patterson, 41, was shocked to face a criminal charge for alleged reckless conduct when her unsupervised 10-year-old son walked less than a mile from their home.

Although authorities offered to drop the charge if she agreed to always supervise her children, Patterson refuses to sign, insisting she did nothing wrong and will fight the charge, which could lead to up to a year in jail.

Her lawyer argues that parents should have discretion over their children’s whereabouts, questioning if constant GPS tracking is now expected. Patterson was released on $500 bail.

    • gtg859r@lemmy.world
      6·
      10 days ago

      That used to be true in the area. My family has lived there for generations. It has seen a lot of change and now it’s full of tourists and cabin rentals. It used to be very remote and disconnected from Atlanta but a governor from the area built a nice highway to get people to the mountains and it isn’t all locals now. A lot of people retire there and begin demanding changes to laws. You may be right about a squabble though, mountain towns have family fights that go on for decades.

      • HATEFISH@midwest.social
        4·
        10 days ago

        Unless you are using a specific definition I’m not familiar with this isn’t true. There are definitely places officially reffered to as village rather than city or town.

        • AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.worldEnglish
          4·
          10 days ago

          It certainly isn’t common.

          Most of the “small towns” would be villages everywhere else, but it feels like it’s shameful in the US. Maybe some places decided to roll with it.

          • odelik@lemmy.today
            2·
            9 days ago

            It’s pretty common in NY state and other areas of New England. Outside of that area however, the term is rarely used outside of shopping centers, apartment complexes, or HOA governed planned housing communities.