A judge has ordered a woman who set fire to Wyoming’s only full-service abortion clinic to pay nearly $300,000 in restitution, the full amount sought by prosecutors.
Lorna Green is serving a five-year prison sentence for setting fire to Wellspring Health Access weeks before the clinic was set to open in Casper in 2022.
The fire destroyed the building while it was being renovated for the new clinic and delayed its opening by nearly a year.
After opening last April, Wellspring is now the only abortion clinic in Wyoming.
A clinic in Jackson that provided abortion pills closed Dec. 15 because of rising costs.
On Tuesday, US District Judge Alan Johnson ordered Green, 22, to pay about $298,000 in restitution including $240,000 to Nationwide General Insurance Company, the clinic’s insurer.
Green must also pay $33,500 to the building’s owner, Christine Lichtenfels, and $24,500 to Julie Burkhart, founder and president of Wellspring Health Access.
A judge ordered Roxanne Green, who burned down Wellspring Health Access weeks before the clinic opened, to pay nearly $300,000 in damages. AP
Burkhart expressed satisfaction with the return.
“Not only did we experience emotional struggle and trauma due to the burning but it was also quite challenging financially. So I’m glad this is the last part and it’s been canceled,” Burkhart said Wednesday.
The restitution was the same amount requested by prosecutors and was not contested by Green’s attorney, Ryan Semerad, who said in an emailed statement Wednesday that Green “looks forward to a productive and peaceful life after his prison term.”
Roxanne Green was seen wearing a hoodie that set fire to Wyoming’s only abortion clinic. Casper Police Department / Facebook
Green has expressed remorse for the crime, which he said was fueled by anxiety and nightmares about the planned clinic.
The Casper College mechanical engineering student showed no signs of anti-abortion views on social media but told investigators he was against abortion.
He admitted to driving from Laramie to Casper, breaking into the clinic through the door and lighting gasoline which he poured into a tray and splashed on the floor.
The fire-damaged Wellspring Health Access Clinic is taped off on May 25, 2022, in Casper, Wyo. AP
After months of little progress, investigators increased the reward to $15,000 and got a tip that led to Green’s arrest in March.
Green pleaded guilty in June to arson and in September received the minimum prison sentence. He had faced up to 20 years in prison.
The burning and eventual opening of the clinic comes as a new law in Wyoming seeks to ban abortion in nearly all cases.
Roxanne Green expressed remorse for the crime, saying she was driven by anxiety and nightmares about the planned clinic. Casper Police Department / Facebook
The law, which includes the nation’s first explicit ban on the abortion pill, was put on hold by a judge amid a lawsuit filed by four women and two nonprofits including Wellspring Health Access.
After hearing arguments in the lawsuit on Dec. 14, Wyoming District Judge Melissa Owens is weighing whether to rule on the law.
The decision is likely to be appealed, putting Wyoming’s abortion law before the state Supreme Court.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
