The Chronicles of Israfel - Eugenics
Eleventh track from "Starborn".

By: DASWTS

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The Chronicles of Israfel - Eugenics - Video

Lynchburg, VA- It's a victory several years in the making. We're hearing from a victim of state-approved sterilization after he found out Thursday, he will be compensated by the Commonwealth for all he's been through. Katie Brooke sat down with 88-year-old Lewis Reynolds Saturday to hear his reaction.

It's been years of work -- but the bill that appropriates 400 thousand dollars for sterilization victims finally passed both the house and the Senate. Once the governor signs and the budget completes-- each victim will get a 25 thousand dollar check. But they say it's really a symbolic thanks-- that money does nothing to erase the lifetime each victim has lived with not even a chance to have children or a family of their own.

"For years, they were told they were trash, that they worthless, so worthless that the commonwealth didn't want even want them to have children, or for children to be like them," said Mark Bold the CEO of Christian Law Institute.

Lewis Reynolds was sterilized at 13 for having a seizure.

"I can't have a family now, and I always wanted a family, but I can't have one," said Reynolds.

Reynolds is one of seven thousand two hundred and fifty nine Virginians taken by Police or social workers from 1924 to 1979 and sterilized against their will.

"The amount of money, 25 thousand dollars for what was taken away from them, really is small, but in the end of the day, it's symbolic," said Bold.

Mark Bold says many sterilized for something as small as not showing up to school, struggling with alcoholism, or being what social workers deemed "promiscuous". Others for being epileptic, or having mental issues.

"They're valuable, they're our neighbors they're our friends, but clearly it's not the government's role to kill off," said Bold.

Now, the Commonwealth, finally recognizing the wrong- and trying to right it as much as they can, after these victims were ripped from their homes and sent to places like Western State Hospital in Staunton and the Central Virginia Training Center in Lynchburg; many of their families, never seeing them again.

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Eugenics Victims To Be Compensated 25,000 Dollars

Eugenics Act victims compensated 16,000

THE US state of Virginia agreed on Thursday to compensate victims who were forcibly sterilised by state officials decades ago under a eugenics programme.

Survivors won their three-year fight when the Virginia General Assembly budgeted $400,000 (258,000) to compensate them at the rate of $25,000 (16,000) each.

It was welcome news for 87-year-old Lewis Reynolds, who was among more than 7,000 Virginians forcibly sterilised between 1924 and 1979 under the barbaric provisions of the Virginia Eugenical Sterilisation Act.

I think they done me wrong, he said. I couldnt have a family like everybody else does. They took my rights away.

Eugenics was a deeply reactionary movement that sought to improve the genetic composition of the human race by preventing those considered defective from reproducing.

Virginias Sterilisation Act became a model for similar legislation around the country and the world, including nazi Germany.

Nationwide, 65,000 US citizens were sterilised in 33 US states, including more than 20,000 in California alone, said Christian Law Institute executive director Mark Bold, whose organisation has been pressing the case of the Virginia victims since 2013.

Virginia is only the second state to approve compensation for victims of the eugenics programme.

North Carolina approved payments of $50,000 (32,000) for each victim in 2013.

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Morning Star :: Virginia pays up for forced sterilisation