NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – In the wake of a violent crime, families are left to not only navigate their grief but to pay for a death they could have never predicted.

On Wednesday, some of the families most affected spoke alongside state lawmakers, asking for changes to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund.

“This vision for me started July 9, 2020. On that day was the day my son’s life was taken,” said Rafiah Muhammad-McCormick on Wednesday, March 14.

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Stories like hers are too often told.

In 2020, her son, 29-year-old Rodney Armstrong, hosted a pool party at his home on Maylon Drive in Murfreesboro. That day, Muhammad-McCormick came home from work and went to bed. Then, she heard gunshots.

“I didn’t know these young men. One of those gentlemen took his life and I was blessed with the opportunity to see his eyes and look into his soul before he ran out that backyard,” she said. “Now it didn’t come to me instantaneously, but over the years I navigated the criminal justice proceedings and I have seen what other mothers were going through, what other families were going through when we felt we had no control over the proceedings that were taking place.”

Muhammad-McCormick, alongside other mothers with similar stories, is asking for change when it comes to life after death.

“These are hurt and wounded mothers and we want to continue with Mothers Over Murder, but we want to continue with some changes, some plans, some more stats, and more importantly, some more bills,” explained Clemmie Greenlee with Mothers Over Murder.

A bipartisan bill is now making its way through the General Assembly. House Bill 1021, proposed by state Rep. Clay Doggett (R-Pulaski), would improve the support people receive after a loved one falls victim to a crime.

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“Everyone had a story to me and they sounded like they were still […] they never felt whole. They continue to be victimized every day,” Doggett said. “A lot of the challenges they faced, they never get the opportunity for closure, and if there is one thing out there that we can do to help facilitate that through this victim injury compensation fund, and that’s what it’s set to do is to help victims.”

It’s all linked to the Victim Injury Compensation Fund provided through the state’s Treasury Department.

One of the changes the bill is looking to make includes extending the time window someone has to make a police claim, taking it from 48 hours to 15 days.

Doggett explained one of the most concerning things he found out through the process of proposing change was that, reportedly, nearly 60% of claims made are denied.

“I was just really disappointed to see what the denial rate was that we were faced with,” Doggett said. “You had to go through with paperwork and documentation, just a lot of hoops that you had to jump through, and unfortunately through speaking with these ladies, we found out that a lot of people became extremely discouraged and they just quit the process because it was just too much to try to take on.”

Read the latest from the TN State Capitol Newsroom

Under current law, a victim needs to meet the following conditions to be eligible for compensation:

• The crime must be reported to authorities within 48 hours unless the victim is a minor or there is good cause.

• The crime must have happened in Tennessee.

• The victim’s actions cannot contribute to the crime.

• The victim/claimant must fully cooperate with police and efforts to prosecute

The bill passed unanimously in the House and will now head to the Senate.

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