Laws concerning treating human remains are not the same across the United States and instead, they differ evidently between various states. An instance of this disparity can be observed between the legislation of Washington and Idaho State. The statutes of Idaho on the protection of human remains are insufficient in their present state. Washington has an excellent and adequate model for implementing more effective and ethical laws on graves and human remains. Washington’s statutes are comprehensive and they do not just protect the respectability of human remains, but also demand that once a body is discovered, it should be reported to the appropriate authorities irrespective of property ownership ( Washington State Legislature, n.d) . Idaho’s statutes do not essentially protect the remains of human from being sold or exploited or does not need that a discovery of such remains to be told to the authorities.
The Washington Statutes on human remains is thorough because they advocate for the proper treatment of bodies with the respect it deserves. In Idaho, the laws are loose and much has been reported on the looting of Native American sites and burials (Wiley, 2014). In fact, it is a common occurrence to witness mutilation of dead bodies as well as hardhearted disrespect for human remains in Idaho State. The laws are not protecting disrespectful handling of the dead and many perpetrators get through their way to mistreat the bodies for profit, ritual use, revenge, and other things as that Washington State.
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Idaho Statutes on human remains forbid anyone from deliberately removing, hurting, defacing, or spoiling any landmark or grave and demands that undeliberate disturbance of a burial is accompanied by re-interment. Idaho’s law that protects human remains is both deficient and ineffective in its present state (Wiley, 2014). The limitation of Idaho’s law is that it prevents selling human remains or artifact from the grave, and not from other places. On the other hand, the Washington law criminalizes sales as well as the purchase of the remains of people and artifacts from graves. Therefore, Idaho States need to review its laws so that they become comprehensive as Washington laws on human remains.
References
Washington State Legislature (n.d). Title 68 RCW Cemeteries, Morgues and Human Remains. http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?Cite=68
Wiley, N. (2014). Beyond the Grave: State Law, Private Land, and Protecting Native American Graves in the West. J. Race Gender & Poverty , 6 , 106.
