State to Send Out About 200 Eugenics Payments
By Meghann Evans,
Winston-Salem Journal
| 10. 01. 2014
Elaine Riddick got a call this week that had been more than 40 years in the making.
Riddick, a victim of North Carolina’s eugenics program, said she received word from the state that they would send her a eugenics compensation payment at the end of the month.
“I have been fighting this for over 40 years,” said Riddick, who is now 60 years old.
From 1929 to 1974, the state sterilized about 7,600 people, many against their will.
Last year North Carolina set aside $10 million to be divided equally among victims of the N.C. Eugenics Board program. Victims had until June 30 to submit a claim form.
The first eugenics compensation payments are to be sent out by Oct. 31, and a second payment will be sent to victims next year.
So far about 213 victims have qualified for compensation, according to the Office of Justice for Sterilization Victims.
The foundation preceding that office had identified 176 living victims as of early 2013, but the state received 786 claim forms.
Chris Mears, a spokesman for the Office of Justice...
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