The manhunt for Christopher Dorner drew our attention for a couple weeks until it ended in Dorner’s fiery demise.
Since then, the conversation of the Navy veteran and ex-Los Angeles Police Department officer has died down, as has the discussion of corruption within the LAPD.
The victims of Dorner’s rampage have all been laid to rest in sad but touching funerals and eulogies.
What is left of Dorner and what we should do with his remains is really the last chapter of his legacy before we can close the book on him and his rampage forever.
Most people know that Dorner was fired from the LAPD. It was the way his firing was handled that led him to his determined killings.
However, before being a police officer, Dorner was a decorated soldier in the U.S. military and had been honorably discharged after years of service for the U.S.
This has risen the question of whether Dorner should be buried with military honors at a national cemetery.
In general, all veterans of the U.S. military qualify for burial with military honors in a national cemetary. This means veterans receive a military gravestone and a flag. Also, the funeral is fully or partially paid for by taxpayers.
In the case of Dorner, our editorial board did not think most people would want their money going towards paying for Dorner’s burial.
In fact, it would be an outrage if it did. Dorner terrorized citizens of Southern California as he went on his killing spree. It would be a disgrace if we paid for his funeral after we witnessed three others for our own police officers.
While technically Dorner, as a veteran, should be entitled to a military funeral, it is very unlikely that he will get one.
Title 38 of the United States Code, section 2411 states, “Federal officials may not inter in Veterans cemeteries persons who are shown by clear and convincing evidence to have committed a Federal or State capital crime but were unavailable for trial due to death or flight to avoid prosecution.”
Because Dorner is dead and cannot attend trial, not to mention the multiple murders he committed, he should not be eligible for a military funeral.
So taxpayers can breathe a sigh of relief. Dorner’s funeral, if there is one, will likely not be on your dime.
There are and will probably be more cases likes Dorner’s. Decorated veterans who fall from grace because of bad decisions undo their service to the country. It is hard to erase the memories of the innocent lives taken, and we shouldn’t have to erase those memories, not even for the sake of a veteran’s funeral.