Yawn costs 6 months in prison

Clifton Williams, 33, Courtesy Will County Sheriff

Source: USA Today:

A man attending his cousin’s sentencing found himself behind bars after letting out a yawn in a Joliet, Ill., courthouse, the Chicago Tribune reports. Clifton Williams, 33, was watching cousin Jason Mayfield plead guilty to a felony drug charge when he stretched and let out a yawn. Circuit Judge Daniel Rozak sentenced Mayfield to two years’ probation, then sentenced Williams to six months in jail, the maximum penalty for criminal contempt without a jury trial, the Tribune writes.

Williams was jailed on July 23 and will serve at least 21 days.

Chuck Pelkie, a spokesman for the state’s attorney’s office, told the newspaper that a prosecutor in the courtroom told him that Williams’ yawn was “a loud and boisterous attempt to disrupt the proceedings.”

“It seems to me like a yawn is an involuntary action,” Williams’ father, Clifton Williams Sr. told the newspaper. “…[it was] not an outrageous yawn,” Mayfield argued. “This is ridiculous. You’ve got all these people shooting up kids, and here this boy yawns in court [and gets six months]. It’s crazy… This could happen to any one of us,” one of Williams’ family members said

The Tribune reported that since 1999 Judge Rozak has brought more than a third of all contempt charges in the 12th Judicial Court, and jails people at a higher rate than any other judge in Will County. He specifically targets spectators whose cellphones ring in court or people who shout profanities during sentencing, the newspaper said.

This goes to show you that before going to watch a court trial, get a couple extra hours of sleep and turn off your cellphone, otherwise you may end up somebody’s bitch.

Maybe this'll teach youse

Update

Williams has been released after spending nearly a month in jail.