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windshell
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Joined: 15 Nov 2006
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 Posted: 02/02/07 - 17:23 Post subject: Driver who killed 8 UW athletes to transfer to minimum secur
CHEYENNE, Wyo. -- The man who caused the crash that killed
eight members of the University of Wyoming cross country team in
2001 will be allowed to transfer to a minimum-security facility, a
decision that has outraged some victims' families. The transfer
date hasn't been determined.
"This really upset us -- like this is happening behind our
backs," said Dane Johnson, whose stepson Kevin Salverson was one
of the victims. Johnson and other victims' relatives were notified
of the decision in a letter from the Wyoming Department of
Corrections.
"The letter just shows us how wrong this is," Johnson said.
"We think this is a message that goes out saying, 'If you murder
eight people, you spend a few years in prison and then start
heading back to normal life."
Clint Haskins, a Maybell, Colo., resident who also was attending
UW, was drunk on Sept. 16, 2001, when his pickup truck crossed the
center line on U.S. 287 near Tie Siding and collided with a sport
utility vehicle with eight UW runners inside.
Haskins was the only survivor of the crash; he pleaded guilty a
month later to eight counts of aggravated homicide by vehicle and
was sentenced to serve 14 to 20 years in prison.
Four years ago, District Judge Jeffrey Donnell refused when
Haskins asked for a reduced sentence, a request he'd hoped might
speed his transfer to the Wyoming Honor Farm, a minimum-security
facility in Riverton.
Now, Haskins has been approved for transfer either to the Honor
Farm or to the Wyoming Honor Conservation and Boot Camp in
Newcastle.
"We have no control over anything that happens," said Denise
Johnson of Riverton, whose son Kyle also died in the crash. She
says she worries that if Haskins is moved to the Honor Farm, she
might see him around town.
"It's tough," Denise Johnson said. "Somewhere in the process,
it gets lost that he killed eight people."
Corrections Department spokeswoman Melinda Brazzale said
prisoners who are moved to minimum-security facilities will be
released someday.
"We understand victims aren't always pleased with our decisions
to move inmates to these locations," Brazzale said. "Ideally,
(the inmates) will someday be our neighbors, so they definitely
have to work for it."
In addition to Salverson, 19, and Kyle Johnson, 20, others
killed in the crash were Cody Brown; Joshua Jones, 22; Justin
Lambert-Belanger, 20; Morgan McLeland, 21; Nick Schabron, 20; and
Shane Shatto, 19.
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Information from: Wyoming Tribune-Eagle,
http://www.wyomingnews.com
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