Dugard to Get $20M Settlement

Gov. Schwarzenegger says he will sign a bill approved by lawmakers Thursday that appropriates $20 million to Jaycee Dugard, who police say was kidnapped at 11 years old and held captive for 18 years by paroled sex offender Phillip Garrido. The settlement is California lawmakers’ attempt to redress “missed opportunities to identify Mrs. Dugard” during her captivity. Since Garrido’s arrest, officials have revealed he was being monitored by the state parole system for several years and, according to the Los Angeles Times, had at least five parole officers. Dugard, now 30, resurfaced last August with two daughters she bore with Garrido while imprisoned in his backyard and filed a claim that state corrections officials failed to do their jobs, citing psychological, physical, and emotional damages. Garrido and his wife, Nancy, have pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping, rape, and imprisonment.