Racial Disparity in States' Victim Compensation Funds
The cold formality of the letter is seared in Debra Long’s memory. It began “Dear Claimant” and said her 24-year-old son, Randy, who was fatally shot in April 2006, was not an “innocent” victim. Without further explanation, the New York state agency that assists violent-crime victims and their families refused to help pay for Randy’s funeral. Randy was a father, engaged to be married and studying to become a juvenile probation officer when his life was cut short during a visit to Brooklyn with friends. His mother, angry and bewildered by the letter, wondered: What did authorities see — or fail to see — in Randy? Debra Long had bumped up against a well-intentioned corner of the criminal justice system that is often perceived as unfair.
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The AP found disproportionately high denial rates in 19 out of 23 states willing to provide detailed racial data, the largest collection of such data to date.
Black people are disproportionately denied aid from state programs that reimburse victims of violent crime. That's according to an examination of data from 23 states.
