Pittsburgh, PA asked in Criminal Law for Pennsylvania

Q: Is dumping out cremated ashes to get back at someone abusing a corps?

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1 Lawyer Answer
Cary B. Hall
Cary B. Hall
Answered
  • Criminal Law Lawyer
  • Norristown, PA
  • Licensed in Pennsylvania

A: Probably not - but it could probably land you in other criminal trouble. The statute you refer to is:

"§ 5510 Abuse of corpse

Except as authorized by law, a person who treats a corpse in a way that he knows would outrage ordinary family sensibilities commits a misdemeanor of the second degree."

So, what's a "corpse"? It's not specifically defined in the PA criminal code, but the standard dictionary definition is something like "a dead body." Not much of a body once its cremated, so I'd venture to guess that dumping out a person's ashes would NOT be "abuse of corpse."

I'm betting the cops could get you on something else, though - because it's a pretty outrageous and heartless action. In short, don't do it.

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