Policy

Ohio Lawmaker Calls for Fiscal Aid for Cleveland Kidnap Victims

Wants them to get free college after decade-long imprisonment

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A lawmaker wants the state to provide years of relief payments and a free ride to college for three Cleveland women abducted and held in captivity for about a decade.

State Rep. John Barnes Jr. planned to introduce his Survivors of Abduction Act on Tuesday. It would provide Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight with at least $25,000 annually in reparations for the years they were restrained and tuition, fees and living expenses at a public college.

The bill also requires pursuit of a federal waiver for the women — or anyone restrained or held in "involuntary servitude" for at least eight years — so they would receive lifetime government medical assistance.