Bo Jackson wants “5 minutes” with Toomer’s Corner Tree Killer

"This is no different than somebody going to Mount Rushmore and defacing one of the heads..."

Jail time may be the least of the worries of the person responsible for poisoning the soil around Toomer's Corner. Bo Jackson wants a piece of him first. The former Auburn running back on WJOX radio in Birmingham, Alabama:

"This is no different than somebody going to Mount Rushmore and defacing one of the heads of the Presidents that's at Mount Rushmore. It is no different than that. This is a 130 year old tree that has never played a football game, has never been in Jordan-Hare Stadium, has nothing to do with what goes on in Bryant [Denny] Stadium or Jordan-Hare Stadium. Has nothing to do with that. And then to sit and brag about it.

This person, it doesn't matter if he's an Auburn fan or Alabama fan, needs to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. If it was my own child, and I'm not just saying this but if it was my own child I would expect him to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. But first the authorities need to let me spend five minutes with him in a room."

The "fullest extent of the law" for being found guilty of criminal mischief, a class C felony in Alabama, would be 10 years in prison and a $5000 fine according to this website.

Good luck to the lawyers trying to find a good precedent for this case leading up to trial. I'd guess it never reaches that point and the person responsible agrees to a plea deal with plenty of probation and very little time behind bars. Perhaps his biggest concern will be once he leaves prison if he attempts to resume a normal life in the state of Alabama.