Gov. Kate Brown shouldn’t force a widow with five children to slug her way through a lengthy lawsuit to learn the truth about her husband’s death. And that same fate shouldn’t be forced on a Weiser couple who want justice for their slain daughter.
Jessica Bates, through an attorney, has put Oregon state officials on notice she intends to sue. Bates was seriously injured and her husband David died in a collision south of Ontario last January. The collision happened, authorities contend, as Anthony Montwheeler fled police with his dying ex-wife, Annita Harmon, beside him. Authorities accused him of murdering Harmon.
Bates said she intends to ask for $5 million. The claim is, her attorney said, a way for her to hold the state accountable for what happened that awful January morning. Harmon’s parents say they want the same justice and accountability.
Getting it through . . .
