RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Some surviving relatives of people involuntarily sterilized decades ago through a North Carolina program are ending their efforts to obtain financial compensation.
A lawyer for the estates of three victims said Thursday they won’t ask the state Supreme Court to review a lower court ruling upholding a commission’s decision denying them payments.
About 7,600 people deemed “feeble-minded” or undesirable were sterilized from 1929 to 1974 through the state’s program. A 2013 law says only victims alive on June 30, 2013, could receive compensation. The relatives argued the deadline violated the rights of the deceased.
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About 200 victims have received $35,000 so far. The appeal’s end means victims could soon get more.
The relatives’ attorney - Elizabeth Haddix - says her clients think the appeals have honored their loved ones.
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