New law compensates 'cold case' victims
Nov 12, 2010
from Patrick Cronin's article in Seacoast Online:
Rep. Renny Cushing said he saw one shortcoming in the bill signed into law last year establishing for the first time in the state's history a Cold Case Unit assigned to work exclusively on unsolved murder cases.
The Democratic state representative from Hampton said the bill didn't address the needs of surviving victims who may be traumatized by the reopening of an investigation into their loved ones death. That is why he sponsored a bill, which became law three weeks ago, that allows family of cold case homicides to be eligible for victim compensation regardless of the date of the crime.
"It is my understanding that the law that went into effect is the first law in the country that specifically recognizes cold case homicide victims under victim's compensation statutes," Cushing said. "I am proud that New Hampshire is on the leading edge of meeting the needs of crime victims."....
"Whenever I consider criminal justice legislation, I always ask how does it impact the victims of crime," Cushing said. "I could see right away they were not being addressed, but the focus at the time was just getting the unit approved and up and running."
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