The dead may not speak aloud, but the desecration of Ackerman Cemetery speaks volumes. Grave stones from the past three centuries have been overturned. The vandalism was no respecter of persons as headstones from fathers, mothers, infants, and veterans from several branches of service and wars were toppled over. There is a memorial bench at one gravesite that now overlooks pushed over stones marking loved ones’ resting place.
One adult, 20-year-old Ethan Cole Melton and two juveniles (identities withheld due to age) are facing charge of desecration of burial ground. Melton was taken and processed at the Colleton County Detention Center with a $35,000 surety bond. The two juveniles will be charged on petitions with the Department of Justice.
The desecration has left the family members of those in the cemetery not only angry, but extraordinarily sad. The peacefulness and serenity will not be the same according to one family member of the deceased.
Source: Anna Harris
