Dollar Tree Screws Dead Black Woman

Taneka Talley, an African American woman working for Dollar Tree has been screwed over, first by a deranged racist killer, and then by her employee insurance.

In March 2006 Taneka was working as a cashier at the Dollar Tree when a man brandishing a knife walked into the store and stabbed her to death. The only reason he gave was that she was black.

The insurance company that covers Dollar Tree employees decided that this was the perfect excuse not to pay $250,000 in death benefits to the woman's 11-year-old son. They claimed that because the attack was purely racially motivated it was 'personal' as opposed to work related, despite the fact that the killer and his victim had never met before, and the fact that if she had not been at work she would likely still be alive.

The alleged killer, Tommy Joe Thompson, is scheduled to go to trial this month and faces life in prison. Thompson also went to jail in the 90s for beating his young son.

Several things shock me about this story. I find it hard to comprehend that someone is so racist that they would rather spend the rest of their life in jail, just so they can kill a random black person. It's also hard to believe the lengths that insurance companies will go to to worm their way of out paying claims, even using racism as an excuse.

The fact is this woman was insured by her employer. Had she not been at work that day she would still be alive. I wonder if the victim had been a white man, killed by a racist man hating black woman, if the insurance would have paid out. I'm guessing it would.