Jemar Lambert Charged With Mishandling Bodies

[sugarfree irony]

A Tennessee cemetery owner accused of burying up to 200 bodies on land not owned by the business pleaded guilty Friday in exchange for 10 years' probation.

Jemar Lambert, the owner of Galilee Memorial Gardens in Bartlett, entered an Alford plea in Shelby County Criminal Court. Under an Alford plea, a defendant doesn't admit guilt but acknowledges there is enough evidence to convict.

Lambert, 39, pleaded guilty to theft of property over $60,000. From May 2010 to January 2012, between 100 and 200 bodies were buried on land that is owned by a charitable trust and sits adjacent to the cemetery, prosecutor Byron Winsett said.

In a separate case, Lambert was arrested in January 2014 on charges of theft of property and abuse of a corpse. Prosecutors said remains of three people were buried in a single grave at Galilee in March 2013. Charges in that case are being dismissed.

Lambert also is being sued by a class of more than 500 relatives of people buried at the cemetery. The lawsuit contends Galilee stacked multiple caskets in single burial plots, crushed caskets in order to fit more caskets into plots, misplaced remains and buried bodies on neighboring property without authorization.

The suit also names as defendants several funeral homes, saying they should have known the cemetery was conducting improper burials.

The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance says Lambert kept burying bodies at the cemetery for two years after his registration expired on Dec. 31, 2010. Relatives of three people buried at the cemetery have said they don't know where their loved ones' remains are located because they were not allowed to see the caskets being lowered into the ground.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/13/jemar-lambert-plea-deal_n_6867380.html

 

[Baron Samedi]

What a scab on the bullocks of humanity.

So he is guilty of casket crushing, misplaced remains and just plain theft and they offed a plea where he does not even admit guilt. I can not see that this will help people get closure over their missing family members.

On the upside, he does not seem to be into screwing the dead, but only fucking over their relatives.

 

[Kathy]

This is a forensic scientist's nightmare. Who ever gets this case will have enough work to make it to retirement with because it is going to take years of a lot of work to get this researched and figured out.

 

[LarzlovesJahi]

"Under an Alford plea, a defendant doesn't admit guilt but acknowledges there is enough evidence to convict."

What the hell is that?

 

[Baron Samedi]

From a law site citing the Alford plea

The primary thrust of the Alford decision is that a defendant may voluntarily and knowingly consent to the imposition of a prison sentence even if he is unwilling or unable to admit he participated in the acts constituting the crime. United States v. Morrow, 914 F.2d 608, 611 (4th Cir. 1990).

The defendant gets to “save face” by using an Alford plea, but it is legally the same as a guilty plea. The criminal record shows a conviction just as if he had pled guilty. The punishment is the same, so refusing to comply with probation will bring the same punishment regardless of why. This is something every defendant should keep in mind if they hope to use an Alford plea.

http://www.jimcourtneylaw.com/?p=262

SAVE FACE? It makes me want rip his off! Why should he get a free pass for his dignity when he has robbed so many of theirs?

 

[lithiumgirl]

I hope this guy is doubly terrified when its his turn to die...all of his misdeeds come up and punch him in the face and he is really, really, really, fucking scared!

 

[JackBurton]

The defendant gets to “save face” by using an Alford plea, but it is legally the same as a guilty plea. The criminal record shows a conviction just as if he had pled guilty. The punishment is the same, so refusing to comply with probation will bring the same punishment regardless of why. This is something every defendant should keep in mind if they hope to use an Alford plea.

Wasn't it used in the memphis 3 case when they finally let them out? Sounds familiar. It was used to allow the inept state and their absurdly bungled investigators/prosecutors to save face in that situation.

What a scumbag. That's why i just wanna be thrown in the trash, or eaten by large predators following my demise.

 

[Krystal]

Wasn't it used in the memphis 3 case when they finally let them out?

Yes it was. And for the exact reason you said, inept state and ignorant authorities to save face.

 

[bowling68]

That's why i just wanna be thrown in the trash, or eaten by large predators following my demise.

Cremate me, then throw my ashes in the wind so no one tries to snort me up their nose.

 

[Sudonim]

From a law site citing the Alford plea

The primary thrust of the Alford decision is that a defendant may voluntarily and knowingly consent to the imposition of a prison sentence even if he is unwilling or unable to admit he participated in the acts constituting the crime. United States v. Morrow, 914 F.2d 608, 611 (4th Cir. 1990).

The defendant gets to “save face” by using an Alford plea, but it is legally the same as a guilty plea. The criminal record shows a conviction just as if he had pled guilty. The punishment is the same, so refusing to comply with probation will bring the same punishment regardless of why. This is something every defendant should keep in mind if they hope to use an Alford plea.

http://www.jimcourtneylaw.com/?p=262

SAVE FACE? It makes me want rip his off! Why should he get a free pass for his dignity when he has robbed so many of theirs?

A lot of people take an Alford plea because if you plead guilty, and the judge accepts it, you lose the right to appeal - forever. An Alford's plea retains your right to appeal at a later date.

 

[Brenni]

I would be enraged to find out this happened to my late husband

.... I'd kill that son of a bitch.