The mother of a slain Marshall University football player will not be allowed to claim compensation from the state Crime Victims Compensation Fund to pay off her late son’s student loans.
Donte Newsome was shot and killed outside a Huntington nightclub in 2008. The fund paid for his funeral and medical expenses, but his mother Angela Y. Smith filed to also have the fund pay off his student loans. The claim was rejected by the state Court of Claims and she appealed to the Supreme Court.
Her attorney argued the student loans are an economic loss which is generally reimbursed by the Crime Victims Comp Fund. However, the justices rejected the argument claiming Newsome had already received benefit of the educational opportunities provided by the student loans and was not entitled to reimbursement under the “lost scholarship” provision of the state code.