Tennessee § 39-17-312 Abuse of corpse

Tennessee Statutes

§ 39-17-312 — Abuse of corpse

Tennessee § 39-17-312

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This text of Tennessee § 39-17-312 (Abuse of corpse) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-312 (2026).

Text

(a)A person commits an offense who, without legal privilege, knowingly:

(1)Physically mistreats a corpse in a manner offensive to the sensibilities of an ordinary person;

(2)Disinters a corpse that has been buried or otherwise interred;

(3)Disposes of a corpse in a manner known to be in violation of law; or (4) Engages in sexual contact, as defined in § 39-13-501 , with a corpse.

(b)A person commits an offense who, without legal authority or privilege, knowingly offers to sell, sells, offers to purchase or purchases previously buried human skeletal remains. Any remains seized in violation of this subsection (b) shall be confiscated and subject to disposition as provided for in §§ 11-6-104 and 11-6-119 .

(c)A violation of this section is a Class E felony.

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(a) A person commits an offense who, without legal privilege, knowingly: (1) Physically mistreats a corpse in a manner offensive to the sensibilities of an ordinary person; (2) Disinters a corpse that has been buried or otherwise interred; (3) Disposes of a corpse in a manner known to be in violation of law; or (4) Engages in sexual contact, as defined in § 39-13-501 , with a corpse. (b) A person commits an offense who, without legal authority or privilege, knowingly offers to sell, sells, offers to purchase or purchases previously buried human skeletal remains. Any remains seized in violation of this subsection (b) shall be confiscated and subject to disposition as provided for in §§ 11-6-104 and 11-6-119 . (c) A violation of this section is a Class E felony.