California Pays $20 Million Compensation to Jaycee Dugard

The Californian Legislature has voted to pay Jaycee Dugard and her two daughters a total of $20 million in compensation over the failure of the state’s parole service to supervise convicted kidnapper and rapist Phillip Garrido.

The settlement had been negotiated after Dugard sued last February the state of California for “psychological, physical and emotional injury; loss of livelihood” during her 18 years in captivity.

Duggard was held in sexual bondage in a hidden backyard compound by Phillip Garrido, who fathered her two children.

The payout avoids a court hearing that would focussed on a long series of serious parole supervision lapses.  These lapses are already well documented in an authorative report by the California Office of the Inspector General.

Garrido had served only 11 years of a 50-year federal sentence for a pervious kidnapping and raped and was under federal supervision when when Jaycee Duggard. Californian parole agents incorrectly classified Garrido as a low-risk offender, ignored a report that indeciated the hidden backyard area where Jaycee Duggard was imprisoned, ignored alerts from Garrido’s CPS anklet, and ignored the presense of a one of Jaycee Duggard’s daughter during a parole visit.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to sign the bill into law to allow the payment to be made.