Should you be allowed to bury bodies without permission?

[purplepoppy]

A local news story centres around a man who was given a "stone age" burial in the woods by his daughter. (The article later calls it medieval but let's not split hairs).
He lived an off grid lifestyle with no electricity, was 'anti-establishment and refused normal medical treatment prefering holistic remedies.

www.dailymail.co.uk/.../...ng-body-house-days.html

The judge pretty much let his daughter off giving her a light suspended sentence and praising her for doing a good job.

But do you think you should be allowed to bury people without informing the authorities?

Yes and you should be able to bury them anywhere

You should inform but be allowed to bury anywhere

You should inform and the burial site must be approved.

It depends on whether or not you're the one that killed them

[SaoirseS]

It depends. As the article states and as is the law here, the only law they broke was failing to register the death. In the US (and in the states I service), after death remains become the property of the next of kin. Within city limits, zoning laws determine whether or not deceased humans can be buried on the property; most cities and townships prohibit burial except in approved cemeteries. But on rural properties, families may bury the deceased on their properties without permit or other approval. They have no requirement other than to register the death. Declaration of cemeteries on private property is required only when the property is sold or transferred, then it needs to be marked on the survey. Natural burials need not be marked or declared as cemeteries. I do a few private property burials a year, so they are not uncommon.

[SaoirseS]

A couple of things in this article had me shaking my head. They left him for several days by a woodburner while they dug the grave. When it comes to remains (human or otherwise), heat is NOT your friend. He had to be pretty ripe by the time they got around to burial. Secondly, unless they had to go through rock (might be the case judging from the pics of the property), they sure spent a lot of time digging a grave.

[purplepoppy]

The article says in the woods so there's going to be a lot of tree roots too. Ground around there is stony with shallow top soil. I thought the fire thing was odd too. Living on a farm they must be aware how fast bodies bloat up even if you put them in a cool place

[bean2k21]

Yeah but could you really put your father in a freezer next to the chicken and steak?

[SaoirseS]

@bean2k21 Freezing is a bad idea, but sticking remains next to a heat source is worse. Just think of it like medication, keep in a cool, dry location for the short term. Decomposition starts immediately after death; you can't stop it, but cool temps will slow it down. Conversely, heat will speed it up - a lot. Natural Organic Reduction (aerobic decomposition, or human composting) is nothing more than speeding up nature by using forced warm air and agitation so that remains are decomposed within 30-40 days rather than decades.

[SaoirseS]

Thanks for MHO!

[bean2k21]

@SaoirseS And thank you for the dead body advice!

[SaoirseS]

@bean2k21 Anytime!

[Oigit]

Report what you are doing to the authorities and insure they have their request laid out in their will and testament. So long as you have those two squared away there tends to be no issue with unconventional burials like that. If I remember correctly a family was taken to court in Colorado a few years back due to taking their relatives body into a forest and leaving it there.

It did draw some legal attention, but ended up not going to court or causing any issues. The relative spent a lot of time hunting, wondering the area and fishing. He wanted to more or less be left in his favorite place after he passed.

[AviatorTom]

Good question. You shouldn't bury them where the decaying body might cause health issues to others, but other than that, you should be able to bury them wherever. You do need to inform the authorities that the person is dead, not necessarily where they're bring buried, but that's optional.

[jshm2]

Ack, you know better than to trust a DailyMail article! It's the only thing a FOX news article looks a little less credible next to!

The girl was actually in court for not registering the death. She could have put her father through a woodchipper and served him as sloppy joes to American tourists for all that it mattered how his corpse was got rid of.

[purplepoppy]

It's in the local news too. I used that link because there's less ads on it

[AlphaMale1]

In some places in the US this is still allowed as long as you or the person who passed away owns the land. There are many family burial plots in the country around where I live. They are interesting to read the headstones as some of them have been buried there for over 200 years. However, if you get caught digging them up to move them to, say, build a new house where the graves are that is a major No No. It can be done. However, it is time-consuming and you need permission from a relative of the diseased.

[genericname85]

no. because that can be a serious ground water and general biohazard issue that may harm other people. specially if lots of people did it in densely populated urban areas. maybe we should have burrial areas like national parks and hiking trails where the burrial of a loved one can be more "free" and "unregulated" than on a cemetary. that would be acceptable.

[HippieVeganJewslim]

In the film Captain Fantastic, a family unburied a dead family member and burnt her corpse, as that’s what she wanted by her Buddhism, I think. The Christians didn’t want that to happen, but they shouldn’t push spiritual beliefs down the corpse’s throat. I’d say yes. If that kind of crime is possible, so can the contrariwise.

[delta50]

I believe you should be able to bury a body anywhere and you SHOULD inform someone but you should not have to inform anyone of WHERE you buried it.

If some cop says it's "pretty dope" that you buried a body and they just want to see where so they can "appreciate your work" then that should be a hard no. That cop might be super into graves and it's not right for you to deny them the pleasure of an Easter Egg hunt.

[exitseven]

Definitely D. If they just let everyone bury people wherever they want there would be stiffs every where and it would be hard to keep track of who died and who was murdered. In the next town a kid killed this girl and buried her in the backyard. The backyard was on ledge so he could only did down a few inches. He buried her lying down and she was naked. When it rained some of the top soil was washed away and het breasts popped out of the ground.

[snackthatsmilesback]

I understand authorities needing to know where bodies are so someone doesn't stumble on it and think it's a crimescene years later, but don't think that should limit where a body can be buried.

[Anonymous]

Somewhere between B and C, I think if you own the land then you should be able to bury someone on it, but these things do need to be recorded for obvious reasons.

[Slingblade1126]

As long as you pay for a permit, the government needs their cut.

[Pudsmucker]

You should be able to bury your dead on your own property if it's large enough. That's why we have large plots of land with headstones in it. People don't have to get permission. A medical doctor still needs to pronounce the cause of death.

[Twalli]

As long as it's your property and it isn't in violation of any legal rights.

[Chazmatazz269]

Permits are what you get when the government takes away your rights and then sells them back to you.

[KrakenAttackin]

Many lands that have been passed from generation to generation have family cemeteries.

[Jackblue]

No, deaths should be reported, nevertheless I agree with the judge in letting her off lightly.

[jimmy2]

Well if it family they have the right and burden on the body

[CuriousMufuxka]

Of course! What I've learned is out of sight is out of mind..

[NathanDavis]

a certain neighbour of mine... says, yes

[USLegionary]

A lot of laws are in place for a reason.

[Zolly99999]

No I don't think so..

[KostasKouvalis]

WTF? You need a permit for that?

[Agape93]

Absolutely.

[Jamie05rhs]

You should at least get a death certificate.

[Anonymous]

uuumm nnnooo!!!

[eagle1951]

never