some bodies are more sacred than others

Two staggering stories-- one from News of the Weird...

Convicted Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols...filed a 39-page federal lawsuit in March alleging unconstitutional "cruel and unusual punishment" because the refined-food, low-fiber meals give him "chronic constipation (and) bleeding hemorrhoids." He demanded fresh raw vegetables and other high-fiber foods, necessary to "keep one's body (i.e., God's holy temple) in good health."

Nichols was joined in the lawsuit by fellow...resident Eric Rudolph (the convicted abortion-clinic and Atlanta Olympics bomber), who claimed "gas and stomach cramps" and observed that "our bodies" are "sacred and should be treated as such." [KMGH-TV (Denver), 3-29-09]


...and one that should be there (or maybe will be there in the future)-- given the irony of the spoken concerns about her body-- from Kevin O'Neal in the Indy Star (hat tip: C-J)...

Covered with a carpet, a 750-pound woman who died Tuesday was taken from her home on a flatbed wrecker, outraging her loved ones and leading the Marion County coroner to concede that his office could have handled the situation better....

"You know how you hoist a car on a flatbed with a chain? That's how they took her up there," [Teresa Smith's boyfriend] David Johnson said Thursday....

Coroner Frank Lloyd Jr. said Smith's body could have been treated in a more sensitive manner. He said his office hopes to get equipment to accommodate similar instances in the future....

Previously, after Smith had fallen, the Indianapolis Fire Department had helped her get back into her bed, Johnson said. But firefighters were unavailable Tuesday. Lloyd said he reached out to funeral directors, who also were unable to help. He turned to Zore's, a wrecker company.

According to Johnson, Smith was dragged out of the apartment on the mattress on which she had died....Johnson said the wrecker hooked a hoist to the mattress and lifted Smith onto the flatbed truck, which had backed into the apartment courtyard.

Smith was covered with a carpet from her apartment, which Lloyd said was the only covering available. He conceded that Smith's body still was visible to residents in the small courtyard between buildings....