A man accused of stealing his father's body from a Detroit cemetery with the hope of bringing him back to life has pleaded guilty in exchange for avoiding prison.

Vincent Bright, 49, stole the body of 93-year-old Clarence Bright from Gethsemane cemetery on 14 January and stored it in a home freezer.

Police, acting on a tip from other family members, found the corpse in Bright's home on Detroit's east side. Police said Bright took the body in the hope his father would be resurrected.

Bright pleaded guilty on Monday to a charge of disinterring a body and faces sentencing on 24 September.

"He seems to be doing well," his defence lawyer Gerald Karafa told the Associated Press on Tuesday.

A conviction on the charge of disinterring a body could have brought up to 10 years in prison.

Prosecutors sought a mental health examination for Bright, which found he was competent to stand trial.