State of Washington settles with family of woman killed in crash with ex-con
By Jim Greene
Published on December 20, 2005
The state of Washington last week settled a wrongful death suit filed by the family of a woman killed in a car crash with an ex-convict the family claims was not properly monitored by the state.
Under the agreement, the family of Paula Joyce will receive $6.5 million in compensation for her death in an Aug. 8, 1997 crash with Valdez Stewart, an ex-convict under state supervision. At the time of the crash, Stewart was speeding through Tacoma in a stolen sports utility vehicle, smoking marijuana and running red lights, when he struck Joyce's pickup.
The lawsuit faults the Washington Department of Corrections (DOC), saying it has a responsibility to monitor the activities of ex-offenders once they are released into the community. Although the State Supreme Court overturned a 1999 $22.5 million jury award in the case, it confirmed the DOC's responsibility.
Stewart, who was 21 at the time of the crash, was on supervision for a 1995 assault conviction and a 1996 conviction for possession of stolen property, and had violated the conditions of his release from custody more than 100 times. Only three violation reports were filed by community corrections officers handling his case.
A spokesperson for the state said it agreed to settle because the Supreme Court's earlier decision created possible grounds for a jury award significantly larger than the settlement.
A family lawyer said they settled rather than drag the case out in court.
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