State of Ohio v. Glass
Ohio Court of Appeals
273 N.E.2d 893, 52 A.L.R.3d 691 (1971)
- Written by Kelli Lanski, JD
Facts
B.F. Glass (defendant) was a real estate developer who purchased a tract of land upon which a cemetery was located. Her deed excluded the cemetery from the conveyance, meaning she would need approval from the local township to build on that portion of the land. The cemetery included three headstones and a large rock that served as a fourth headstone. Three of the people buried there were identified as having been dead and buried for over 100 years. All the bodies had totally decomposed at the time Glass bought the land. Glass obtained a health permit to remove the bodies and employed a licensed undertaker to move them to a new cemetery. She also paid to move the stones. Glass then sought approval from the local township to build on the land. Her request was denied, and she was indicted for violating Ohio’s grave-robbing law. The law prohibited the unlawful opening of a tomb or removal of a corpse. It had been in place in various forms over the years and reenacted over time. Prior versions of the statute clarified that the term corpse did not include the remains of persons long buried and decomposed, and earlier versions of the law had been subject to judicial review and interpretation. Glass was convicted of grave robbing and a second offense of unlawfully moving a headstone.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Gray, J.)
Dissent (Stephenson, J.)
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