Rent In Peace

Charges have been filed in the case of the recycled graves.

One defense lawyer has an explanation:

Needham said the digging up of remains and dumping them in a back lot was a longtime practice at the cemetery. His preliminary research indicates that many of the remains came from graves that were rented as a lower-cost alternative to buying a plot, he said. When the lease expired, the cemetery dug up the remains and buried others in the plot, he said.

I hadn't heard of this practice, but here's a different news story claiming the practice as not unusual at historically black cemeteries:

"Because they didn't have the money they rented it for 20 years. And then after 20 years they dug up the bones and put it in a mass burial style," said Priestly.

If your grave was always just a rental,
is our outrage merely sentimental?