Bodies pile up in Detroit morgue; poor can't afford burial

Money to bury Detroit's poor has dried up, forcing struggling families to abandon their loved ones in the morgue freezer.

The number of unclaimed corpses at the Wayne County morgue is at a record high, having tripled since 2000. The reason for the pile-up is twofold: One, unemployment in the area is approaching 28%, and many people, like the Vickers, can't afford last rites; two, the county's $21,000 annual budget to bury unclaimed bodies ran out in June. Full Story »

Posted by Kaizar Campwala - via Digg, Drudge Report
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Subjects: U.S., Business
Topics: U.S. Economy
Member Tags: Detroit, death
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# Diggs: 49 (as of 2009-10-02)
# Tweets: 2 (as of 2009-10-01)
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Posted by: Posted by Kaizar Campwala - Oct 1, 2009 - 7:51 AM PDT
Reviewed by: Kaizar Campwala (review)
Content Type: Article
Edit Lock: This story can be edited
Edited by: Kaizar Campwala - Oct 2, 2009 - 6:25 AM PDT

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Kaizar Campwala
3.5
by Kaizar Campwala - Oct. 2, 2009

A chilling story, mediocre reporting. Is the burden of dealing with dead relatives the first to go in though economic times, or have Americans already abdicated responsibility for other expenses as well?

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