Every state offers victim compensation. For the Longs and other Black families, it often isn’t fair
Written by Black Hot Fire Network on May 18, 2023
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 his 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 . . .
