TITLE:
Analysis of Non-Homicidal Necrophilic Offenses and Punishments According to State Law and Aggrawal’s Classification System
AUTHORS:
Dina Cirigliano
KEYWORDS:
Federal Anti-Necrophilia Law, State Anti-Necrophilia Law, Necrophilia Variations, Anil Aggrawal, Classifications of Necrophiles, Crimes against the Dead, Sentencing Necrophiles, Psychological Disorder, Paraphilic Disorder, 10-Tier Classification of Necrophiles
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Medical Psychology,
Vol.14 No.4,
September
23,
2025
ABSTRACT: Historical documentation indicates that the presence of necrophilia has been a constant since approximately 455BC, and one of its very first instances was recorded in Ancient Egypt. This is not to say that necrophilia did not occur prior to the keeping of archives. What is notable is the fact that at present time—some 2479 years later in the year 2025AD—necrophilia is still occurring across the world not excluding America. This speaks volumes in proving that the practice continues to persevere across both geographic location and time. An extensive review of literature revealed research identifying necrophilia as a paraphilic mental disorder after the conducting of psychoanalysis on those who took part in necrophilic acts. Other research brought forth the criminalization of necrophilia in some jurisdictions from a legal perspective. Still more articles displayed that necrophilia is precisely the point in which psychological disorder and crime intersect. Additional studies shed light on a categorization system for necrophiles, signifying that the mind and behavior of all participants are not one in the same. It is both the system of classification and the criminal/legal aspect of necrophilia in the US that are the focus of the research at hand. In the United States, no federal law exists regarding the banning of necrophilia. This legislative responsibility is left completely up to each individual state. Some states follow in the footsteps of the US government, opting not to include an anti-necrophilia law in their state code. Other states have certainly chosen to include such laws on their books. This research focuses on the states that do include laws that prohibit necrophilic acts within their state codes, or have established precedence-setting caselaw within their jurisdictions. This study was conducted via analytical comparative legal research. The purpose was to identify how necrophiles are handled under each state’s legal system in order to compare and contrast 1) variances as to where each state houses their anti-necrophilia law (criminal code/health regulation/precedence-setting caselaw), 2) their code specifications, 3) their criminal charges, 4) whom or what the offense is against (public/person/property) in their state, 5) the status of the corpse (person/object/undetermined) in their state, 6) their specified prohibited acts, 7) against what class(es) of necrophile a corpse is protected in their state, 8) the crime level (misdemeanor/felony) in their state, and 9) their maximum sentencing requirements. To do so, anti-necrophilia laws from each state that has one were gathered and analyzed meticulously down to the exact wording utilized. To identify the classes of necrophiles to which the laws pertain, Aggrawal’s classification system was utilized. The results of this research illustrate that a federal necrophilia law should not only exist, but should be considered a necessity. Extreme differences were found after data analysis regarding the incongruent legalities and the immense disparities in penalties from state to state. Additionally, no state laws required psychiatric services in sentencing. When states are made responsible for their own legislation of necrophilia prohibition laws, they are inconsistent, divergent, and frankly concerning. Perhaps the United States government will, finally, be so inclined as to issue a federal anti-necrophilia law to end the extreme clashes on the state level once and for all.