Exhibit 99.1

[LOGO] CARRIAGE                            PRESS RELEASE
       SERVICES
                                           Contacts: Mel Payne, Chairman & CEO
                                                     Joe Saporito, CFO
                                                     Carriage Services, Inc.
                                                     713-332-8400

                                                     Ken Dennard / Lisa Elliott
                                                     DRG&E
                                                     713-529-6600

                            CARRIAGE SERVICES UPDATES
                          COMPANY & INVESTMENT PROFILE

SEPTEMBER  5,  2003 -  HOUSTON -  Carriage  Services,  Inc.  (NYSE:  CSV)  today
announced that it has updated its "Company & Investment  Profile",  which can be
found on Carriage's website at www.carriageservices.com,  and is being furnished
on Form  8-K to the  Securities  and  Exchange  Commission.  Carriage's  updated
"Company & Investment Profile" includes new and current information, including a
current  discussion  on debt  reduction  and the new bank credit  facility,  its
current "Long Term Base Case Scenario," and "Base Case Enterprise  Valuation LBO
Structure" analysis, as well as discussions of Carriage's business,  strategies,
and goals, to name a few elements.

      This document is being  published and updated by Carriage in  continuation
of its stated goal to provide more disclosure and transparency to the investment
community  regarding  Carriage's   operations,   goals,  industry  dynamics  and
conditions.  Given  challenging  capital market  conditions and limited  analyst
coverage of Carriage Services,  it is Carriage's intent to take a more proactive
role in communicating with investors.

      The first two pages of Carriage's  updated "Company & Investment  Profile"
are included at the end of this release.  Investors and  interested  parties are
encouraged to visit the website, http://www.carriageservices.com to download the
entire document in Adobe Acrobat formatted file.

      Carriage Services is the fourth largest publicly traded deathcare company.
As of September 5, 2003,  Carriage  operates 140 funeral homes and 30 cemeteries
in 29 states.


Certain  statements  made herein or  elsewhere  by, or on behalf of, the company
that are not  historical  facts are  intended to be  forward-looking  statements
within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements
are based on assumptions that the company believes are reasonable; however, many
important factors, as discussed under "Forward-Looking Statements and Cautionary
Statements"  in the  company's  Annual  Report  and Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31,  2002,  could cause the  company's  results in the future to differ
materially  from the  forward-looking  statements  made  herein and in any other
documents or oral presentations made by, or on behalf of, the company. A copy of
the  company's  Form 10-K,  and other  Carriage  Services  information  and news
releases, are available at www.carriageservices.com.

           - First two pages of Company & Investment Profile follow -


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