[Alberta's Child]

Does this reflex keep those thumbs pinned AFTER the nails have been removed and AFTER the person has died and his body been washed?

I would think so. The reflex is the result of a complete severing of the nerve in question, and since there is no indication that any of the twelve apostles was proficient in orthopedic microsurgery I would think there was no way to "fix" the underlying problem before burial.

[RS]

"The reflex is the result of a complete severing of the nerve in question"

Amazing that both would have hit the exact spot to sever the correct nerve and that severing a nerve causes clenching - one would suppose then death would result in the same type of "clenching" that severing would, since the nerve no longer can carry impulses, and that the muscles causing the clenching would not relax in death.