The week-long celebration of the late Jimmy Carter’s 100-year-long life was certainly a fitting tribute to our country’s longest-living president — and it highlighted many of the meaningful memorial traditions that are still treasured by the deathcare profession. Of course, the solemn and respectful services weren’t without a bit of controversy, namely the use of the “troubled” U.S. Army caisson platoon and the surprisingly cordial gathering of the five living presidents.
Thankfully, the nonstop coverage of tributes to the 39th president overshadowed an unusually high number of deathcare-related headlines — many of them involving important (or at least interesting) legal updates that we didn’t want you to miss.
Illinois chain of custody law goes into effect
Beginning this year, Illinois funeral directors who knowingly provide the wrong cremains to families could face penalties, including jail time. The new Integrity in Death Care Act establishes a thorough system for tracking remains, and not following the process will now be a felony. The law was inspired by the 2022 discovery that a Carlinville funeral home had mixed up the mostly-untagged cremains of nearly 80 individuals. Authorities realized there were few options for criminal charges for this mishandling, although a slew of civil suits were filed.
Utah director’s license revoked … again
A funeral director whose license was reinstated following his release from a Utah prison in March has once again seen that license revoked. Lonnie Nyman was sentenced in 2019 on a wide variety of crimes, from financial misdeeds and witness tampering to charges of sending explicit images to a minor. So perhaps it’s not surprising that Nyman allegedly gave the state’s Funeral Service Board misleading information that led to the board’s issuance of a probationary funeral director’s license in November. Nyman, who called himself “an awesome, awesome funeral director,” acknowledges wrongdoing but disputes many aspects of the original case and the current license revocation proceedings.
Arkansas introduces body parts bill
State legislators in Arkansas learned last week about Lux’s Law, a bill which, if passed, would make it a crime to sell human remains that were authorized for cremation. The bill was inspired by the terrible tragedy of Lux, a stillborn baby whose body was stolen and sold by a funeral home employee. Violating this law could result in a fine of up to $10,000, up to five years in prison, or both.
Grieving New York families may pay toll
A controversial “congestion toll” went into effect in New York City, and it seems even grieving families will not be exempt. Because funeral homes (obviously) will not transport bodies via public transportation, the owners of hearses and other mortuary vehicles will be subject to the $9 per day fee for operating a vehicle in certain areas of Manhattan — and most plan to pass that fee along to families. The New York Post spoke to several directors who all agreed they’d have to incorporate the fee into their basic service charges. One director even participated in a failed lawsuit last year to block the fee from going into effect.
Georgia director denied bond
Chris Johnson, the Douglas, Georgia funeral director who is accused of 17 counts of abuse of a corpse, will remain in jail for the time being. In late October, authorities attempting to serve eviction papers at Johnson’s funeral home discovered 18 bodies in various states of decomposition. Since his initial arrest, Johnson’s bids for bond have been denied while the Georgia Bureau of Investigation worked to identify each set of remains. Although the last two families were finally notified last week, bond was again denied, because, according to one family member, if Johnson was let out, “somebody’s going to kill him.” In addition to the abuse charges, Johnson faces up to 100 years in prison for fraud, forgery, and theft.
