NY seeks to deny murderers spouse burial rights
May 14, 2012, 9:11 PM
Associated Press
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – New York lawmakers are trying to change a state law that allowed a man who murdered his wife to deny release of her body to her outraged family for months, then bury his victim near his favorite fishing hole.
A new bill would prohibit spouses charged with murder or subject to restraining orders from dictating what happens to the bodies of the wives or husbands they’re accused of killing. It would end what victims’ families call abuse beyond the grave.
The bill is also prompted by another New York case in which a husband who beheaded his wife, then controlled her burial.
State law currently allows surviving spouses to handle funeral arrangements, regardless of how the death occurred.
Some other states have addressed the concern in “slayer laws.”
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