§ 12-12-321 - Autopsies -- Exhumed bodies.
12-12-321. Autopsies -- Exhumed bodies.
(a) Where death occurs under such circumstances as are set forth in 12-12-315 and where a body has been buried without proper certification of death, it shall be the duty of the chief law enforcement official of the county or municipality in which death occurred or in which the body is buried or the State Medical Examiner, his or her associates, assistants, or deputies to notify the prosecuting attorney of the jurisdiction in which death occurred and the body is buried.
(b) The prosecuting attorney shall thereupon present the facts to the circuit court of the county, and the court may, by written order, require that the body be exhumed and an autopsy be performed by the State Crime Laboratory or its designee.
(c) A full and complete report of the facts developed by the autopsy shall be furnished to the court and the prosecuting attorney in timely fashion.
(d) The cost of the exhumation and for transportation to and from the place of autopsy shall be borne by the county in which the death occurred.