When kidnapper and registered sex offender Phillip Garrido and wife Nancy nevertheless have not gone to trial, it was reported by CNN that 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 failed to investigate Phillip Garrido’s residence more thoroughly, which would have showed the imprisonment of both herself and her young daughters right in Garrido’s backyard. The bill appropriating the unprecedented $ 20 million Dugard settlement flew through with a 30-1 vote in the California Senate and 62-0 within the California Assembly.
For 18 years, Jaycee Lee Dugard was missing
No amount of money can give the now 30-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard and her family back years that were lost when she lived in Phillip Garrido’s makeshift backyard prison. But the $ 20 million Dugard settlement will help Jaycee Dugard purchase a home, pay for her children’s education and obtain as much therapy as is necessary, among numerous other things. If nothing else, the scrutiny to the California State Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s methods could prevent anyone else from going through a comparable ordeal. As outlined by 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 thought they may have a case against Dugard
While California State officials thought at one point that they had enough data 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 evidently would have hinged upon jurisdictional matters, reports CNN. Public relations for California would have been bad. The state claimed that it was the responsibility of federal parole officers (instead of California State parole officers).
More info about this topic at these websites:
CNN
cnn.com/2010/CRIME/07/01/california.dugard/?hpt=T1
AP report on $ 20 million Dugard settlement:
youtube.com/watch?v=nr7xF52DMRU
