Another national notice for Arkansas: It is one of only seven states that deny aid to crime victims if they’ve had a criminal past.

The Marshall Project reports.

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Florida is one of seven states that bar people with a criminal record from receiving victim compensation. The laws are meant to keep limited funds from going to people who are deemed undeserving. But the rules have had a broader effect: an analysis of records in two of those states—Florida and Ohio—shows that the bans fall hardest on black victims and their families, like the Campbells.

Discrimination may not be intentional, but a product of the justice system. Blacks get harsher sentences and are charged more often with drug offenses though they use and sell of drugs at about the same rate as white people. Economics matter in court. Those who can hire better lawyers do better in court.

In Arkansas, a crime victim is barred for life from compensation if convicted in the past of a felony involving injury or death to another person. Last year,  the Crime Victims Reparations Board voted against asking legislators to lift the state’s lifetime ban.

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