Categories
Death + the Economy Death Ethics

Unclaimed Dead Bodies and the US Economy

No funeral money? What to do By Geoff Williams, U.S. News & World Report (May 30, 2013) What’s worse than dying? Maybe dying broke. It has been a while since an unclaimed-dead-bodies-continue-to-be-a-problem story appeared in the news. Within weeks of the Death Reference Desk launching in July 2009 (four more years! four more years!) we […]

Categories
Death + Crime Death + the Economy Death + the Law

Prisoner Cemetery for the Unclaimed Dead in Texas

Texas Prisoner Burials Are a Gentle Touch in a Punitive System Manny Fernandez, New York Times (January 05, 2012) At a cemetery in Texas, murderers and other convicts whose bodies are unclaimed can be interred and, for a few moments, remembered. Here’s a really interesting article on the cemetery used by Texas prison officials. These […]

Categories
Death + Crime Death + the Economy Death + the Law Death Ethics

Cook County Gives Unclaimed Dead Bodies a Two Week Notice (sort of…)

Under Recent Policy, Cook County Begins Donating Unclaimed Bodies after 2 Weeks Cadavers that are left in morgue are given to medical research Becky Schlikerman, William Lee and Ronnie Reese, Chicago Tribune (October 04, 2011)   Medical Examiner: Families Who Object to Body Donation Can Opt for Burial Becky Schlikerman, Chicago Tribune (October 05, 2011) […]

Categories
Cemeteries Death + Art / Architecture Death + the Economy Death + the Law

Where New York’s Unclaimed Dead Bodies Get Buried

Artist’s Study of Island Brings the Dead to Life Adam Geller, Associated Press (October 30, 2010)   Hart Island Project Melinda Hunt This is a really compelling article about a New York burial ground for unclaimed bodies. Adam Geller, from the Associated Press, wrote a lengthy piece about both Hart Island (the cemetery) and artist […]

Categories
Death + the Economy Death Ethics

Some Unclaimed Dead Bodies Buried in Detroit

Detroit finds dignity in death Poppy Harlow, CNNMoney.com (November 16, 2009) This article is a few weeks old so it isn’t breaking news. That said, I just noticed the video and watched it. The images of all the unclaimed bodies stacked up in the morgue freezer is a tragedy. I’ve been covering the unclaimed body […]

Categories
Death + the Economy Funeral Industry

Death and the Economy: Too Many Unclaimed Dead Bodies for the Body Farm…

Indigent Burials Are on the Rise Katie Zezima, The New York Times (October 11, 2009) Regular readers of the Death Reference Desk will recognize that the nationwide increase in indigent burials is a significant trend. Since this summer, when Death Ref launched, we have routinely posted articles on the uptick in unclaimed dead bodies under […]

Categories
Death + the Economy Funeral Industry

Death and the Economy: Unclaimed Bodies Fill the Detroit Morgue

Detroit: Too broke to bury their dead Poppy Harlow, CNNMoney.com (October 1, 2009) This CNN story on Detroit is heartbreaking. The economic situation in Detroit is horrible enough, but this particular dispatch says more about the financial straits of life and death than anything I have seen. Over the summer, the New York Times ran […]

Categories
Death + the Economy Death + the Law Death Ethics

Death and the Economy (redux): More and More Unclaimed Bodies in County Morgues

Death in the Recession: More Bodies Left Unburied Alison Stateman, Time Magazine (August 07, 2009) News stories about unclaimed dead bodies, accumulating in morgues across America, continue to pop up. Death Ref Librarian Kim found this one and I decided to post it. What makes this particular Time article slightly different than the other articles […]

Categories
cremation Death + the Economy Death Ethics

Death and the Economy: Unclaimed Corpses Accumulate at the LA County Morgue

More bodies go unclaimed as families can’t afford funeral costs Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Los Angeles Times (July 21, 2009) This LA Times article (sent to me by my friend Karyn) is a sad and predictable explanation of how the American economic recession is affecting the poor. In a nutshell, next of kin do not have the […]

Categories
Death + Technology Death + the Economy

Brain$…Brain$…Brain$

Donate Your Brain, Save a Buck Gary Stix, Scientific American (January 4, 2011) Hard times are making tissue donation more appealing   The Great Recession changed the way many people live—and its repercussions appear to be altering how some people choose to die. At least two prominent tissue banks have seen an increase in the number […]

Categories
Cemeteries Death + the Economy Death + the Law

Bring Out Your Dead Checkbook

FTC Proposes New Guidelines for Collecting Debt from Dead People Ylan Q. Mui, The Washington Post (November 22, 2010) The Federal Trade Commission is seeking to revise the protocol surrounding two of life’s touchiest subjects: debt and death.   Are Cemeteries the New Safe Investment? Patrick Collinson, The Guardian (October 16, 2010) With a shortage […]

Categories
Death + Art / Architecture Grief + Mourning

Sick Beauty in the Stains of Death: Sarah Sudhoff’s “At the Hour of Our Death”

At the Hour of Our Death Sarah Sudhoff Our worldly possessions speak to how we live, while their particular aesthetics — the whorl of this cushion, the filigree of that doily — hint at personality. In her series, At the Hour of Our Death, artist Sarah Sudhoff explores how our stuff reveals how we die, […]