"Before he was convicted, Hagans expressed his gratitude on Facebook to the friends and family who have supported him, "or just let me vent," about not just losing his fiancee but also being tried for putting a planter box of flowers on her grave."


 That's misleading:

"please not put [planter boxes] there anymore, that they weren't wanted, and that they weren't allowed by the city." When the seventh, eighth and ninth planter boxes were removed, Ford filed a criminal complaint with the Auburn Police Department. A 10th planter box was found after the complaint was filed, he said."


 I get it is a petty nonsense reason to press charges and prosecute somebody but there is a difference between arresting somebody for placing "a planter box" versus placing 10 after they were asked to stop by the property owner.

"Certain burial plots in the state are owned and controlled by the family of the deceased and are considered private property."


 Since it is the personal property of the father I could care less what he does.  Unfortunately since the Fiancé does not have legal backing he has to find an alternate way to grieve or face continued legal consequence.  It's almost like the law applies equally to everyone, even those in mourning.

 I've seen similar situations where roadside memorials get removed.  It is unfortunate for the family, but public roads are just not designed or in my opinion appropriate for long-term memorials.

 Yeah I would have just left the flowers there and let it go, but who knows what's going on that nobody knows about.

 I had an associate that said some pretty disrespectful things to his fiancée's father about his daughter.  Most everyone thought the Dad was petty and too "protective" but there was this whole underlying issue there regarding respect for his kid.