When kidnapper and registered sex offender Phillip Garrido and wife Nancy nevertheless have not gone to trial, according to CNN, Jaycee Lee Dugard and her two teenage daughters are the recipients of a $ 20 million settlement from their case against the California State Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The lawsuit stemmed from Jaycee Dugard’s claim that parole agents were in dereliction of their duties when they didn’t investigate Phillip Garrido’s residence more, which would have uncovered the imprisonment of both herself and her young daughters in Garrido’s backyard. The bill appropriating the unprecedented $ 20 million Dugard settlement went right through with a 30-1 vote within the California Senate and 62-0 within the California Assembly.
For 18 years, Jaycee Lee Dugard was missing
No amount of money could be able to give give the now 30-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard and her family back the lost years when she lived in Phillip Garrido’s makeshift backyard prison. But the $ 20 million Dugard settlement will enable Jaycee Dugard to purchase a home, pay for her children’s education and obtain as much therapy as is necessary, among numerous other things. If nothing else, maybe the scrutiny into the California State Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s methods might prevent others from going through a similar ordeal. According to department’s report, “While it is true that Garrido’s California parole was never officially violated … the department failed to properly supervise Garrido and missed numerous opportunities to discover his victims.”
State officials seemed to have a case against Dugard
While California State officials thought at one point that they had enough info on their side to contest Jaycee Lee Dugard’s claim, they ultimately ruled that it wasn’t worth bringing the case before a jury. Their case apparently would have hinged upon jurisdictional matters, as outlined by CNN. Unfortunately, public relations for California would have been really icky. The state decided against passing the buck and claiming that it was the responsibility of federal parole officers.
Citations:
CNN
cnn.com/2010/CRIME/07/01/california.dugard/?hpt=T1
AP report on $ 20 million Dugard settlement:
youtube.com/watch?v=nr7xF52DMRU
