There are many explanations on why dead cry and here we have a list of 5 of them.
1 What happens at the moment of death or in the hours before death, is generally just normal body actions.
A tear is natural — the eyes are partially open and have been for days or even weeks. There is a drying out of the eyes and the body is trying very hard to produce moisture. Without blinking (and the eyes are not blinking) moisture accumulates and rolls down the cheek producing a tear (generally not a lot of “tears” because the body is dehydrated and not functioning as it normally would).
It seems poetic to believe the tear is sadness or emotionally based. I believe the “tear” is physiologically based. The person at the moment of death is so withdrawn from their body that they are not expressing emotions or even feeling emotions. Their work is that of the little chick working to get out of the shell. They have already withdrawn from what goes on around them days or even weeks before this moment.
2 The phrase “brain dead” refers to the cognitive conscious functions of the brain. Those are not all the functions of the brain, far from it. The brain provides also the autonomic nervous system, which regulates those functions not under conscious control, such heartbeat, breathing, peristalsis, temperature regulation etc. These functions quite often continue in brain-dead people, and that leads to their family’s diffcult decision whether or not to shut off a respirator. I can believe that the autonomic nervous system is quite possibly capable of expressing tears through the tear duct.
3 The body is in a state of gradual decay and it basically liquifies. This takes time of course, but liquid can be resting in tear ducts and can be secreted at any time. Bodies can also express air after death, which makes them sound as if they are still breathing or sighing
4 There is a drying out of the eyes and the body is trying very hard to produce moisture. Without blinking (and the eyes are not blinking) moisture accumulates and rolls down the cheek producing a tear (generally not a lot of “tears” because the body is dehydrated and not functioning as it normally would).
5 There is also a spiritual aspect when it happens and its all depends on one believes
