$2.8 Million Settlement in Washington DOC’s Failure to Supervise Parolee
$2.8 Million Settlement in Washington DOC’s Failure to Supervise Parolee
The State of Washington paid $2.8 million to settle a lawsuit for injuries incurred by its failure to supervise a parolee. The Washington Department of Correction (WDOC) placed Richard H. Wilson in its most dangerous category of offenders who were “most likely to reoffend”
Wilson had a long history of extremely violent crimes; he was an armed felon, a rapist, and a sex offender. WDOC did a good job of supervising him from 2000 to 2002. He returned to jail in 2002 and was released in 2004, and WDOC still had supervision jurisdiction over him.
By April 14, 2004, WDOC had completely lost track of Wilson. It learned in May 2004 from law enforcement that he was suspected of criminal activity, but WDOC did not follow up on those reports. Without supervision, Wilson fled and went on a multi-state crime spree.
On June 9, 2004, Wilson forced a woman to undress at gunpoint, sexually molested her and shot her in the back of the head and neck. She was airlifted to a hospital, survived, and is now deaf in one ear. He then took another woman to a remote area, forced her to lift her shirt over her head, and shot her in the back. She also survived.
Wilson was cornered by the Utah Highway Patrol after a high speed chase and committed suicide. The settlement was reached on October 23, 2006. A breakdown of the award was not available. The plaintiffs were represented by Seattle Attorneys Anthony D. Shapiro, David P. Moody, and Douglas C. McDermott and Salt Lake attorney Edward Havas. See: Jensen v. Leyendecker, Thurston County Superior Court, Washington Court, Case no. US 2-01388-2.
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Related legal case
Jensen v. Leyendecker
| Year | 2006 |
|---|---|
| Cite | Thurston County Superior Court, Washington Court, Case no. US 2-01388-2 |
| Level | State |
| Conclusion | Settlement |
| Damages | 2,800,000 |