A grave offence: corpse desecration and the criminal law

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.