Victim Compensation for Violent Crimes

Victim compensation is a direct reimbursement from the state to, or on behalf of, a crime victim for losses sustained at the hands of a criminal. The crime victim may be reimbursed for crime-related expenses, including medical costs, funeral and burial costs, mental health counseling, lost wages, or loss of support. Other compensable expenses may include the replacement or repair of eyeglasses or other corrective lenses, dental services and devices, prosthetic devices, and crime scene clean-up.

Victim compensation by government is a concept that can be traced back as far as 1775 B.C., to the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi wherein territorial governors were instructed to replace a robbery victim's lost property if the criminal was not captured. In the case of murder, the governor was to ...