Okla. Stat. » Title 21 — CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS
Oklahoma Statutes

Okla. Stat. tit. 21, § 1161 (2026)

Unlawful removal of dead body - Violation of or damage to

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casket or burial vault. A. No person shall intentionally remove the dead body of a human being or any part thereof from the initial site where such dead body is located for any purpose, unless such removal is authorized by a district attorney or his authorized representative or medical examiner or his authorized representative, or is not required to be investigated pursuant to the provisions of Section 938 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes, said authorization by the district attorney or medical examiner shall not be required prior to the removal of said body. A district attorney having jurisdiction may refuse to prosecute a violation of this subsection if the district attorney determines that circumstances existed which would justify such removal or that such removal was not an act of malice or wantonness. B. No person shall remove any part of the dead body of a human being from any grave or other place where the same has been buried, or from any place where the same is deposited while awaiting burial, with intent to sell the same, or to dissect it without authority of law, or from malice or wantonness. C. No person shall willfully or with malicious intent violate or cause damage to the casket or burial vault holding the deceased human remains. D. Any person convicted of violating any of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class D1 felony offense and shall be punished by imprisonment as provided for in subsections B through F of Section 20N of this title, or by a fine not exceeding Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or by both such fine and imprisonment. R.L. 1910, § 2456. Amended by Laws 1986, c. 281, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 1986; Laws 1989, c. 193, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 1989; Laws 1997, c. 133, § 300, eff. July 1, 1999; Laws 1999, 1st Ex.Sess., c. 5, § 201, eff. July 1, 1999; Laws 2025, c. 486, § 401, eff. Jan. 1, 2026. NOTE: Laws 1998, 1st Ex.Sess., c. 2, § 23 amended the effective date of Laws 1997, c. 133, § 300 from July 1, 1998, to July 1, 1999.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 2000–2025 · leading case: Gilson v. State, 2000 OK CR 14, 8 P.3d 883.
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Gilson v. State, 2000 OK CR 14, 8 P.3d 883. “1991, § 421(A)(5)), (Count I) and Unlawful Removal of a Dead Body (21 O.S.1991, § 1161), (Count II), Case No.”
Quillen v. State, 2007 OK CR 22, 163 P.3d 587. · cites it 2× “¶ 6 With regard to Proposition II, we find that the jury was improperly instructed that the range of punishment for Unlawful Removal of the Dead, After Former Conviction of Two or More Felonies, was not less than twenty years imprisonment.”
Vasquez v. State, 2025 OK CR 1, 564 P.3d 880. “7 21 O.S.2011, § 1161 21 O.S.2011, § 425 I.”
Okla. Stat. tit. 21, § 1161(D): 1 case
Quillen v. State, 2007 OK CR 22, 163 P.3d 587. “¶ 6 With regard to Proposition II, we find that the jury was improperly instructed that the range of punishment for Unlawful Removal of the Dead, After Former Conviction of Two or More Felonies, was not less than twenty years imprisonment.”
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