‘There's got to be an end'
Parents accept $1.25M in teen's
boot camp death
BY JENNIFER GERRIETTS
2001
Argus Leader
Fighting back tears as they spoke, Gina Score's parents told
reporters Tuesday that they had accepted a $1.25 million settlement
in a lawsuit over her death.
"People think we ought to go to trial. They've got to remember
they're on the outside and we're on the inside," Viola Score said,
wiping her face with a tissue. She said while the family wanted to
bring an end to the case, they will continue to push for changes in
the juvenile justice system that allowed their 14-year-old daughter
to die of heat exhaustion while in state custody.
The settlement - to be paid in equal shares by Sioux Valley Hospital
& University Medical Center and the state of South Dakota - ends the
Scores' federal lawsuit over their daughter's July 1999 death at the
State Training School in Plankinton.
But it doesn't end the legal disputes in the case.
Lawyers for two fired boot camp workers say the state is continuing
its fight to exclude them from state liability protection and
subsequent payments for court costs in the case.
The two workers were acquitted last year of criminal child abuse
charges in connection with Gina's death during a 2.7-mile forced
run. The girl collapsed and overheated. She was left several hours
in the sun before she was taken to a hospital.
The Canton couple say constant reminders of her death are difficult
and they didn't want to face a trial.
"We really didn't want to live through that again," said David
Score, fighting back his tears.
"There's got to be an end somewhere," Viola Score said.
The couple said they plan to use the money for their two sons and to
set up a fund to help juveniles who need counseling after leaving
corrections programs, although they did not yet have details on how
the fund would operate.
Sitting in their lawyers' office Tuesday, Gina Score's parents cried
and laughed, talking about their daughter, a typical teen-ager who
loved animals and writing poetry. They never expected that she would
go to a boot camp, much less die in the custody of the state, her
mother said.
When Gina, who had a history of minor thefts and being a child in
need of supervision, was sentenced to the Department of Corrections,
her parents thought she would go to foster care.
"We didn't know that they didn't do that anymore," Viola Score said.
"We just wanted for her to know that in life there would be the same
rules and regulations. That's all she needed to see."
The couple said they were involved with her every step of the
process, with her mother taking time off work to attend her pre-boot
camp interview in Sioux Falls.
"We told her to always tell the truth and that you have to pay the
consequences for your actions," David Score said.
Viola Score said she still is angry that they did not receive an
apology for their daughter's death from Janklow.
"As to this date, we have not heard an apology from him," Viola
Score said. "There is no concern there for children."
Holding his hand across his face, David Score said he no longer
wants to hear from the governor.
"It's kind of too late right now. It's way too late," David Score
said.
Janklow's spokesman, Bob Mercer, said the governor tried to speak
directly with the family by calling for David Score at work.
"He was told that Mr. Score did not wish to talk with him. He has
not tried again, because he would be accused of being unethical,"
Mercer said.
Mercer said the governor has publicly expressed his distress over
the girl's death many times in interviews with the media.
Gina Score's death led to widespread scrutiny of juvenile
corrections in the state and several other lawsuits.
The Score family's settlement with the state dismisses the wrongful
death case. But the state's part of the settlement doesn't include
Tamara Wagaman or Raelene Layne, the boot camp staff members who
were the only state employees charged in connection with the death.
Wagaman and Layne are included in the hospital's settlement.
The Scores will not seek damages from the two women, said Stephanie
Pochop of Gregory, one of the Scores' lawyers. She said the women
were excluded from the state's settlement agreement at Janklow's
request.
By not including the women in the settlement, the state can continue
to fight against Layne and Wagaman's coverage under a fund that
would pay their legal fees in the case.
"It's vindictive on the part of the governor to try to exclude
Tamara Wagaman," said the woman's lawyer, Jim Abourezk of Sioux
Falls.
Layne's lawyer, Tim Whalen of Lake Andes, said state officials led
him to believe the women would be included in the settlement but
they backed out at the end. He said Janklow seeks to blame the two
women for Score's death.
"I don't think my client was treated fairly at all," Whalen said.
"I'm very, very disappointed and upset. This isn't how I practice
law. It's unethical."
Both women are being sued by the state to drop them from coverage
under its employee liability fund.
"The settlement between the state and the Score family did not
address Raelene Layne and Tamara Wagaman because there is an
unresolved court case involving the legal liability fund," Mercer
said.
A lawyer representing three other former State Training School
employees who were included in the Scores' suit - Superintendent
Clay Ramsey, program manager Don Johnson and staff member Evan
Edinger - said his clients are grieved by Score's death but are glad
to be moving on.
"I believe everyone involved in this regrets the day this started,"
said lawyer Matthew Tobin of Sioux Falls. "I think hopefully it will
bring some closure to the Score family and to the various parties
involved."
Sioux Valley officials declined to comment on the settlement
Tuesday. Last week, the hospital issued a statement saying it would
pay half of the settlement.
"South Dakota is a family itself, and everyone in this case regrets
the day it all began. We hope today begins the first step toward
healing," said Sioux Valley CEO Kelby Krabbenhoft in his statement
last week.
Other parties to the case, Corrections Secretary Jeff Bloomberg,
former boot camp trainee Roxanne Frey and former nurse Merridy Fett,
could not be reached to comment on the settlement Tuesday.
At their news conference, Score's parents said they will struggle
with watching her friends grow up and do things their daughter will
never do. They will never go to her high school graduation, see her
get confirmed at church or see her fulfill her dream of being a
veterinarian, her mother said.
"They say it's got to get easier. We're just hoping that it will
happen," Viola Score said.
David Score said the family wants to go back to a quiet existence
out of the public eye, but they won't quit working to make changes
in the juvenile corrections system.
"The only change I would like to see is the system closed down,"
Viola Score said.
The case led to public awareness of how juveniles in the system were
treated, Pochop said
But more progress is needed, the lawyer said. The family learned
that an ambulance has been called to the State Training School 12
times between October and the end of January for suicide attempts.
"You are dealing with a child who is the least likely to assert his
rights," Pochop said. "The number of suicide attempts just points to
the hopelessness and despair."
Sen. Dennis Daugaard, a Sioux Falls Republican who is vice chairman
of the Judiciary Committee, said the Corrections Department has
presented many substantial changes made to juvenile programs over
the past year and a half. However, he wishes the Legislature would
have approved seeking outside accreditation to ensure such changes
continue to be made.
"The changes they are expressing to have made are substantial,"
Daugaard said. "Neither of us (legislators or the Scores) are in a
clear position to judge what is happening without the
accreditation."
Daugaard said he hopes the settlement process is healing to both the
citizens of the state and the Scores.
The Canton couple said they expect to stay involved in juvenile
corrections issues in the state, but it's time for their lawsuit to
be done.
"This may close the chapter, but the book is still open," David
Score said.
Following is a summary of lawsuits and court action in the Gina
Score case:
July 21, 1999: Gina Score, 14, dies of hyperthermia after a run at
the state-operated boot camp.
Oct. 30, 1999: Score's parents file suit against the state of South
Dakota, Sioux Valley Hospital and eight current and former
corrections officials.
Nov. 19, 1999: Former State Training School workers Tamara Wagaman
and Raelene Layne are charged with child abuse and second-degree
manslaughter, accused of abusing girls at the state boot camp,
including Score.
Nov. 23, 1999: State sues to exempt Wagaman and Layne from the
Public Entity Pool for Liability.
Jan. 14, 2000: State dismissed from Score lawsuit; Judge Ronald
Miller tosses out manslaughter charges against Wagaman and Layne.
Jan. 21, 2000: Wagaman and Layne plead not guilty to child abuse
charges.
Feb. 24, 2000: Washington, D.C.-based Youth Law Center files a class
action lawsuit against the state Department of Corrections, charging
practices at the State Training School in Plankinton are abusive and
inhumane.
Oct. 19, 2000: Jury finds Wagaman and Layne not guilty of child
abuse.
November 2000: State agrees to a settlement setting strict limits on
use of force and punishing inmates at the State Training School.
February 2000: State corrections officials, Sioux Valley Hospital
and Score family agree to a $1.25 million settlement.
Reach reporter Jennifer Gerrietts at jgerriet@argusleader.com or
331-2312
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