My understanding is that, generally, the purpose of identification is to find living relatives. It's a matter of respect - identification allows for appropriate rites to be provided, while this is taking advantage of the fact that the dead have no rights to use the prints for their own purposes.

Ok, but respect of disrespect is not the same as desecration, which is what was being argued. Just because we don’t like something does not mean we dress it up as something else.

True, desecration is too strong a word in my opinion. I'm not familiar enough with other cultures and religions to say whether that would be true for everyone.