After We Die: The Life and Times of the Human Cadaver

11. Desecration of Human Remains

254 To desecrate a corpse is, in an intangible way, to desecrate a person, even though the person we knew is no longer “there.” D. Gareth Jones, “Use of Bequeathed and Unclaimed Bodies” Chapter 11 Desecration of Human Remains Since time immemorial, the human cadaver has been regarded as a sacrosanct entity entitled to dignity and respect. Because of the human aspects of cadavers—whether due to their human origin or to the continuation of a deceased’s memories in survivors—the concept of dignity has extended to the treatment of cadavers. As noted in chapters 2 and 3, society protects interests in postmortem bodily integrity as an element of postmortem human dignity. In the Anglo-American tradition, families take possession of their relative’s cadaver for the purpose of providing a respectful final disposition—usually after funerary rites (such as a wake, visitation, or memorial service) mourning and honoring the departed. The family is normally entitled to receive the body in the same condition in which it existed at the time of death, that is, without disturbance by incisions, punctures, or probes. Mistreatment that communicates debasement of the main symbol of the deceased is the antithesis of the respectful treatment supposedly due to every cadaver.1 Disrespectful Neglect Even without active physical disturbance of human remains, various types of conduct can degrade the dignity of a corpse enough to qualify as abuse. Simply failing to dispose of a cadaver in a decent way is an offense to social sensibilities that subjects the (non)actor to damages and/ or criminal prosecution. The well-meaning intentions of the actor do not excuse the conduct. There are many stories of families keeping the cadavers of loved ones at home for excessive periods in the vain hope that a miracle would restore life. An Illinois family kept the father’s corpse in their house for eight years (presumably with the aid of air fresheners), Disrespectful Neglect | 255 and an Oklahoma man kept his mother’s body at home for four years.2 A religious cult leader in New Mexico believed that corpses must be kept in their natural state in order to facilitate reincarnation.3 When a nineteen-year-old congregant died of natural causes, the leader kept the unembalmed body in a house for eight days wrapped in plastic sheeting, followed by twenty-two days in a shed in the yard. The court conceded that no mutilation or physical mistreatment had occurred, but it found that the cult leader’s well-meaning conduct violated standards of public decency and was criminal. The judge would not accept “sincere but erroneous religious belief” as an adequate justification for the improper handling of the corpse. Neglect rather than purposeful physical mistreatment can also be a criminal offense for a professional who is supposedly engaged in disposing decently of cadavers. Lewis Howell, owner of a mortuary in Jackson, Florida, left forty-four decomposing bodies stacked in closets. His explanation for the mishandling—that paperwork had backed up, delaying correct disposition—was unconvincing to authorities.4 The record for professional neglect belongs to Ray Brent Marsh, the manager of TriState Crematory in Georgia. Marsh left hundreds of moldering, uncremated bodies scattered and stacked in woods and structures on his property. He was indicted on 787 felony counts, pleaded guilty to fraud, theft, and abuse of a dead body, and was sentenced to twelve years in jail.5 His attorney, pointing out that Marsh had not physically abused the corpses and that they were not live humans, called the sentence “a bit of overkill.” The families of the 226 identified corpses meanwhile sued for $80 million. The insurers of funeral homes that had used Tri-State Crematory paid $36 million. There was no word on recovery from Marsh’s own insurer. Professionals responsible for the decent disposition of human remains sometimes make unintended mistakes so injurious to the dignity of a cadaver that the offended loved ones can collect for the mental anguish suffered. In one case, a New York City embalmer so botched his job that the corpse appeared at the viewing decomposed, swollen, and distorted. Shocked relatives collected damages for the trauma. In another case, staff at Brooklyn State Hospital in New York City mislabeled the cadavers of two elderly patients, Ms. Lott and Ms. Tumminelli, who had just passed away. The Jewish Ms. Lott was embalmed, laid out for a 256 | Desecration of...