After 15-year pursuit, N.C. eugenics victims to receive final compensation payment

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The third and final compensation payment to North Carolina eugenics victims is expected to be mailed soon, state administrative officials confirmed Wednesday.

The Winston-Salem Journal’s 2002 award-winning series about North Carolina’s eugenics endeavor, “Against Their Will,” brought awareness to the state’s program, which sterilized about 7,600 people before it ended in 1974.

The final payment represents the end of a 15-year pursuit for compensation for at least 213 victims considered as qualified by the N.C. Industrial Commission. They have received two partial payments — $20,000 in October 2014 and $15,000 in November 2015.

“We are in the process of verifying the current addresses of qualified claimants so that the final checks can be processed and distributed as soon as possible,” said Gena Renfrow, the communications director for the N.C. Administration Department.

Read more: http://www.omaha.com/news/trending/after--year-pursuit-n-c-eugenics-victims-to-receive/article_36734616-7d0e-573a-9bb5-db75daadce4b.html