National Cemeteries

WASHINGTON (CN) – Any veteran convicted of a capital crime may not be buried and memorialized in a national or state veterans cemetery, according to a Department of Veterans Affairs regulation.An exception will be made if the sentence has been commuted by the president, or the governor of a state.     The rule applies to those whose federal or state conviction is final. It also applies when prosecution is avoided by death or by flight, but the VA has determined the deceased committed the crime.     A federal “capital crime” is one for which a person could get life imprisonment or the death penalty. A state “capital crime” is the killing of someone intentionally or with premeditation.     Click on the icon on the front page for details and other new regulations.