Washington: $260,000 to Family of Woman Killed By Escaped Prisoner
On November 5, 1991, the State of Washington agreed to pay $260,000 to the family of a woman who was kidnapped and murdered by an escaped work release prisoner.
In 1988, while serving a 12-year sentence for two separate sexual assaults, Eugene R. Kane, Jr. walked away from a downtown Seattle work release center and kidnapped Diane Ballasiotes, whom he later killed. Kane was eventually caught and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole.
Ballasiotes' family sued the state for negligent, willful, and wanton misconduct in allowing Kane to participate in the work release program. The suit, filed in the King County Superior Court, also claimed Kane should have been returned to prison after testing positive for marijuana use. Kane's case was instrumental in the 1990 reform of Washington laws dealing with sex offender treatment and punishment. Ballasiotes' mother, Ida Ballasiotes, was a public figure in the push for reform.
In November 1990 the state admitted liability for not exercising control over Kane. The admission, however, precluded the family from obtaining documents during the discovery process that might have revealed how the prisons and work release programs operated.
"The issues that needed to be settled, I don't think were settled," said Ida Ballasiotes. "That is what is going on in the institutions and how they're managed." See: Ballastiotes v. Department of Corrections, King County Superior Court. Case No. unknown.
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Related legal case
Ballasiotes v. Department of Corrections
| Year | 1991 |
|---|---|
| Cite | King County Superior Court. Case No. unknown |
| Level | State Trial Court |
| Conclusion | Settlement |
| Attorney Fees | 0 |
| Damages | 260000 |
| Injunction Status | N/A |