Jones, SI orcid.org/0000-0003-2940-4431 (2017) A grave offence: corpse desecration and the criminal law. Legal Studies, 37 (4). pp. 599-620. ISSN 0261-3875
Abstract
A great many people share the sentiment that it is a serious wrong to behave with gross disrespect towards deceased bodies. It may therefore come as a surprise to learn that, currently, English and Welsh criminal law is incapable of dealing with cases of corpse desecration. Drawing upon provisions found in other jurisdictions, I argue that this legal gap ought to be filled by a new criminal offence. This should turn on the objective wrong of disrespect to the corpse as an important symbol of a once‐living person. This framing is important in order to correctly identify what it is that makes desecration rightly criminal, assign accurate labels and to avoid unwarranted over‐criminalisation. I conclude by suggesting that only when such an offence is enacted will we be able to ensure that the respect that we deserve in life is reflected in the treatment of our deceased bodies.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2017 The Society of Legal Scholars. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Jones, I. (2017) A grave offence: corpse desecration and the criminal law. Legal Studies, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/lest.12163. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving. |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Education, Social Sciences and Law (Leeds) > School of Law (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 09 Jan 2017 12:33 |
Last Modified: | 01 Jun 2019 00:38 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/lest.12163 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:110192 |