# The (NJ) Record Newspaper Local News 9/11/08 headline: 7 years for necrophilia **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 11, 2008, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nj-record-newspaper-local-news-9-11-08-headline-7-years-for-necrophilia/463092 "2008-09-11T12:52:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nj-record-newspaper-local-news-9-11-08-headline-7-years-for-necrophilia/463092/21 "2008-09-11T20:15:27Z")
> [@Renob](#): > > Like what? Flag burning is no longer illegal. I have a hard time thinking of other things that are crimes merely because someone is annoyed or has grief because I do them. Maybe there are but I can’t think of them. Death threats, stalking, conspiracy crimes, certain cases of endangering the welfare of a minor (e.g. showing pornography to a kid), etc. ---
**Author:** ![Renob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8c91f0/32.png) [@Renob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renob)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nj-record-newspaper-local-news-9-11-08-headline-7-years-for-necrophilia/463092/22 "2008-09-11T20:23:47Z")
> [@neutron\_star](#): > > Death threats, stalking, conspiracy crimes, certain cases of endangering the welfare of a minor (e.g. showing pornography to a kid), etc. I don’t see the connection between any of those crimes and being upset that someone fucked my dead grandmother’s body. Stalking involves an implied threat, death threats involve an overt threat, conspiracy crimes are about conspiracies to commit crimes, and showing porn to kids certainly doesn’t upset them or cause them grief. I think it’s illegal because it could potentially corrupt them and warp their minds. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nj-record-newspaper-local-news-9-11-08-headline-7-years-for-necrophilia/463092/23 "2008-09-11T20:24:57Z")
They are all crimes that, in and of themselves, cause no physical harm, only emotional. ---
**Author:** ![Renob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8c91f0/32.png) [@Renob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renob)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nj-record-newspaper-local-news-9-11-08-headline-7-years-for-necrophilia/463092/24 "2008-09-11T20:30:55Z")
> [@neutron\_star](#): > > They are all crimes that, in and of themselves, cause no physical harm, only emotional. No, they aren’t. A threat is essentially the promise of future physical harm. Conspiracies have nothing to do with emotions. They are about punishing those who plan crimes. Corrupting a minor is about warping a personality that is forming (although it comes closer to proving your point than others). Punishing necrophilia because I’m upset that my dead grandmother’s body was violated makes as much sense as punishing someone for tearing down a house I once lived in because I’m upset that the house no longer exists. Yes, there is an emotional connection and there is real emotional trauma. However, the only reason a crime is committed is if you damaged property that wasn’t yours. If you are fucking a body that doesn’t belong to you, then you should get punished. It should have nothing to do with the fact that someone, somewhere feels some sort of emotional harm. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nj-record-newspaper-local-news-9-11-08-headline-7-years-for-necrophilia/463092/25 "2008-09-11T20:36:30Z")
Well prostitution, gambling, and drug use are classic ‘victimless’ crimes. How does prostitution ‘hurt’ anyone? If done properly, nobody gets hurt. (well…) ---
**Author:** ![Jolly\_Roger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@Jolly\_Roger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jolly_Roger)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nj-record-newspaper-local-news-9-11-08-headline-7-years-for-necrophilia/463092/26 "2008-09-11T20:41:10Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > How does prostitution ‘hurt’ anyone? If done properly, nobody gets hurt. (well…) Seems to do ok in Amsterdam…😃 ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nj-record-newspaper-local-news-9-11-08-headline-7-years-for-necrophilia/463092/27 "2008-09-11T21:04:10Z")
So once a person dies, anyone should be free to do anything to the corpse. When Uncle Leo dies, it should be legal for the relatives to sell his body for sex acts or as food?:eek: ---
**Author:** ![Renob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8c91f0/32.png) [@Renob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renob)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nj-record-newspaper-local-news-9-11-08-headline-7-years-for-necrophilia/463092/28 "2008-09-11T21:22:39Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > So once a person dies, anyone should be free to do anything to the corpse. When Uncle Leo dies, it should be legal for the relatives to sell his body for sex acts or as food?:eek: Why not? It’s just a slab of meat. If the people who were related to him don’t have an emotional attachment to this corpse, and someone wants to buy it, then I fail to see why the government should stand in the way. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nj-record-newspaper-local-news-9-11-08-headline-7-years-for-necrophilia/463092/29 "2008-09-11T21:25:51Z")
Bring me your grandmothers. I am hungry and/or horny. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nj-record-newspaper-local-news-9-11-08-headline-7-years-for-necrophilia/463092/30 "2008-09-11T21:49:25Z")
> [@Renob](#): > > Why not? It’s just a slab of meat. If the people who were related to him don’t have an emotional attachment to this corpse, and someone wants to buy it, then I fail to see why the government should stand in the way. I’m guessing most people do have an emotional attachment, to the bodies of their own deceased friends and relatives and a somewhat lesser but still significant one to the remains of other humans. This case in particular demonstrates that. I don’t think you need any more justification than that. We as a species evolved a culture that universally disapproves of what is perceived as disrespectful or perverted acts with human bodies, even deceased ones. If you think about dead people as meat, you are subject to the temptation of thinking that live ones are as well. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nj-record-newspaper-local-news-9-11-08-headline-7-years-for-necrophilia/463092/31 "2008-09-11T21:57:03Z")
September 2001: A _Record_ photographer takes one of the most famous pictures of the 21st century, depicting three firefighters lifting a flag, a now-famous representation of the tragic events. September 2008: “7 years for necrophilia.” I don’t know if this is better or worse. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nj-record-newspaper-local-news-9-11-08-headline-7-years-for-necrophilia/463092/32 "2008-09-11T22:31:28Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > September 2001: A _Record_ photographer takes one of the most famous pictures of the 21st century, depicting three firefighters lifting a flag, a now-famous representation of the tragic events. > > September 2008: “7 years for necrophilia.” > > I don’t know if this is better or worse. When I read the thread title, I thought that someone was making a point about fetishizing the memory of the event. ---
**Author:** ![Zeke\_N.Destroi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/4af34b/32.png) [@Zeke\_N.Destroi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeke_N.Destroi)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nj-record-newspaper-local-news-9-11-08-headline-7-years-for-necrophilia/463092/33 "2008-09-11T23:41:49Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > The person is dead. There is no consent to give. There is though - pre-mortem. It’s like organ donation, unless you specifically say that upon your death they may dismantle you then they can’t. It is assumed that unless you give consent while you can then you’d rather this didn’t happen to you. Unless the 92 year-old Catholic lady had decreed that tupping her mortal remains was perfectly acceptable one can reasonably assume that she’d rather not be posthumously mounted. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nj-record-newspaper-local-news-9-11-08-headline-7-years-for-necrophilia/463092/34 "2008-09-12T00:01:16Z")
> [@Renob](#): > > Why not? It’s just a slab of meat. If the people who were related to him don’t have an emotional attachment to this corpse, and someone wants to buy it, then I fail to see why the government should stand in the way. Yes, but isn’t the whole point in this case was that the family _did_ have an emotional attachment? And this dude they’d never laid eyes on in their lives just went up and screwed around with their mom’s dead body without so much as a lick of permission? ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nj-record-newspaper-local-news-9-11-08-headline-7-years-for-necrophilia/463092/35 "2008-09-12T00:18:58Z")
I tried. I really tried to try and wrap my mind around the the type of mentality that would actually like to see some poor, obviously mentally deficient, or incredibly lonely guy sent away for 7 years for having sex with a corpse. A corpse IS a slab of meat. It is no longer of any use to anyone. The penalty should be equal to that of the defacement of property. A slap on the wrist, maybe a fine (preferably tailored to the accused’s income), possibly some community service, some mandatory psychological help, and maybe some probation time. Any jail time should be counted in days, NOT years. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nj-record-newspaper-local-news-9-11-08-headline-7-years-for-necrophilia/463092/36 "2008-09-12T01:26:29Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Yes, but isn’t the whole point in this case was that the family _did_ have an emotional attachment? And this dude they’d never laid eyes on in their lives just went up and screwed around with their mom’s dead body without so much as a lick of permission? But how much punishment is warranted for offending that emotional attachment? I don’t think anyone here is saying that there’s nothing wrong with the guy or what he did (as **Annie X-mas** claims we’re arguing), but 7 years in prison is utterly ridiculous and a perfect example of sentencing by emotion rather than judgment. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nj-record-newspaper-local-news-9-11-08-headline-7-years-for-necrophilia/463092/37 "2008-09-12T01:56:54Z")
> [@Kinthalis](#): > > I tried. I really tried to try and wrap my mind around the the type of mentality that would actually like to see some poor, obviously mentally deficient, or incredibly lonely guy sent away for 7 years for having sex with a corpse. Lonely? There are blow up dolls for ‘lonely’. Hell, there are hands. This is a particularly twisted form a sexual sadism. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nj-record-newspaper-local-news-9-11-08-headline-7-years-for-necrophilia/463092/38 "2008-09-12T11:06:56Z")
> [@j666](#): > > Lonely? There are blow up dolls for ‘lonely’. Hell, there are hands. This is a particularly twisted form a sexual sadism. I’m hearing sexual (and possibly mental) dysfunction and it’s still not jiving with YEARS in jail. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nj-record-newspaper-local-news-9-11-08-headline-7-years-for-necrophilia/463092/39 "2008-09-12T11:38:45Z")
> [@Zeke\_N.Destroi](#): > > There is though - pre-mortem. It’s like organ donation, unless you specifically say that upon your death they may dismantle you then they can’t. It is assumed that unless you give consent while you can then you’d rather this didn’t happen to you. > > Unless the 92 year-old Catholic lady had decreed that tupping her mortal remains was perfectly acceptable one can reasonably assume that she’d rather not be posthumously mounted. Hmm, I might want to draw up a will after all. ---
**Author:** ![Jolly\_Roger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@Jolly\_Roger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jolly_Roger)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nj-record-newspaper-local-news-9-11-08-headline-7-years-for-necrophilia/463092/40 "2008-09-12T12:07:25Z")
> [@Kinthalis](#): > > I tried. I really tried to try and wrap my mind around the the type of mentality that would actually like to see some poor, obviously mentally deficient, or incredibly lonely guy sent away for 7 years for having sex with a corpse. > > A corpse IS a slab of meat. It is no longer of any use to anyone. The penalty should be equal to that of the defacement of property. A slap on the wrist, maybe a fine (preferably tailored to the accused’s income), possibly some community service, some mandatory psychological help, and maybe some probation time. Any jail time should be counted in days, NOT years. You know, if someone had had sex with my mother’s body when she died I’d probably pummel them within an inch of their life. I don’t freakin’ care if a corpse screwing psycho is lonely. I’ve been lonely before and I never fucked a dead person. (a few ugly chicks, but hey, they were breathing…) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nj-record-newspaper-local-news-9-11-08-headline-7-years-for-necrophilia/463092.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nj-record-newspaper-local-news-9-11-08-headline-7-years-for-necrophilia/463092.md?page=3)