R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-56-23: Body of deceased inmate.

Whenever any person shall die in any of the correctional institutions, the director, or the director’s designee, shall, after an inquest has been held on the body of the deceased person, deliver the body to his or her relatives or friends if they request it; and if no application is made for the body, the director, or the director’s designee, shall bury the body in the common burying ground, and the burial expenses shall be paid out of the estate of the deceased person, and if none, then by the city or town in which the deceased person had domicile, if within the state; otherwise the expenses shall be paid out of the general treasury.