An Abingdon care worker is fighting for a change in the law after the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority refused to pay his murdered brother's funeral expenses.
The reason given by the authority was that the dead man had a criminal record.
David Richardson, who works at Huntercombe Young Offenders' Institution near Wallingford, took out a bank overdraft to cover funeral expenses of more than £1,000.
His brother Ivan, 58, was murdered two and a half years ago in Leicester.
Mr Richardson, 42, who lives with his wife and son in Wilsham Road, said he thought he could claim for the funeral costs having read information sent to him by the authorities.
But because his brother had a criminal record, Mr Richardson was not entitled to have the funeral costs reimbursed. He is still out of pocket and claims he is an innocent victim of the system.
He said: "The money is not the issue now. I am fighting to get the law changed. The initial information I received was confusing to say the least and I was not sent all the relevant information."
Mr Richardson has enlisted the help of Dr Evan Harris, the Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, to persuade Parliament to change the rules.
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