Burying the Poor

AP News - 779 days ago
Burying the Poor
In this Dec. 3, 2009 photo, Wayne County medical examiner chief investigator Albert Samuels opens the door to one of the morgue's refrigerated storage units in Detroit. About 3,700 corpses each year are wheeled into the medical examiner's office on Detroit's east side. Samuels said between 50 and 60 of the corpses now being stored are unclaimed, about double of any time in 2008. Burials for the unclaimed cost $750 each and are done in volume. The state chips in $585 for each one in Wayne County, and getting the money can take weeks or even months as the state goes through its own fiscal crisis. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)