Cases | Criminal Injuries Comp. Bd. v. Remson, 384 A.2d 58 (Md. 1978) | 2018
Defendant McCutchan, Sr., was convicted of manslaughter and McCutchan, Jr., pled guilty to manslaughter after killing the victim, a husband and father of five. The murder victim was McCutchan, Jr.’s uncle and McCutchan, Sr.’s brother-in-law. A third, unrelated, defendant was acquitted of all charges. All three, however, were found civilly responsible for the defendant’s death. The victim’s widow’s death benefits claim was denied by an inspector for the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (the Board) because she and her children were related to each legally-responsible defendant either through affinity or consanguinity. On appeal to the full Board, her claim was again denied because the statute makes them ineligible: “A person who is criminally responsible for the crime upon which a claim is based or an accomplice of such person or a member of the family of such persons shall not be eligible to receive an award with respect to such claim.” The victim’s widow again appealed the decision; the trial court held that the exception was not applicable to either the wife or the children and remanded the case to the Board. The Board appealed to the intermediate court, but the Court of Appeals granted a writ of certiorari before the court handed down a decision. The Court of Appeals first determined the definitions of “consanguinity” and “affinity” before determining the relationships between the claimants and the perpetrators of the crime. Finally, the court found that the wife was not eligible for an award because she had an affinity relationship within three degrees of McCutchan, Jr., and the children were not eligible for an award because they had a relationship within the third degree of affinity with McCutchan, Sr. The judgment was reversed.