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 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 flew through with a 30-1 vote within the California Senate and 62-0 in the California Assembly.
Jaycee Lee Dugard disappeared for 18 years
No amount of money will 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 help Jaycee Dugard buy a home, pay for her children’s education and obtain as much therapy as is necessary, among many other things. If nothing else, maybe the scrutiny to the California State Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s methods will prevent anyone else from going through a similar ordeal. As outlined by department’s report that they made, “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 felt like they had a good case against Dugard
While California State officials thought at one point that they might have had enough information 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, according to 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 (instead of California State parole officers).
Find more details here:
CNN
cnn.com/2010/CRIME/07/01/california.dugard/?hpt=T1
AP report on $ 20 million Dugard settlement:
youtube.com/watch?v=nr7xF52DMRU
