Giving Compass' Take:

• The Marshall Project examines policies in seven states that won’t give victim aid to those who have criminal histories, and finds that these bans hurts black families the most.

• How does this expose the flaws and prejudices of our criminal justice system? What can advocates do to help advance fairer reforms across the U.S.?

• Here's more on how families of murder victims have to fight for help.

After his father was murdered in Sarasota, Florida, in 2015, Anthony "Amp" Campbell was in shock. Not only had he lost his role model and supporter, he also worried about coming up with $10,000 to pay for the funeral and burial.

Campbell, an Alabama State University football coach, emptied most of his savings but still could not cover the whole cost. Sarasota police urged him to apply to Florida’s crime victim compensation fund for help. Every state has such a fund to reimburse people for the financial wallop that can come with being a victim.

The answer was no. His father, Johnnie Campbell, had been convicted of burglary in 1983 after a late-night break-in attempt at a local business, and Florida law is clear: people with certain types of felonies in their past cannot receive victim's aid. It did not matter that the elder Campbell had changed in 30 years — the Sarasota City Commission called him a “prominent citizen” a month after his death — or that his son had never committed a crime.

Read the full article about states banning victim aid to people with criminal records by Alysia Santo at The Marshall Project.