March 27, 2008

Inmate Has Brief Visit With Dying Daughter

Warden Grants Him Supervised Half-Hour At Her Bedside

  • Jayci Yeager

    Jayci Yeager  (CBS/EARLY SHOW)

(CBS)  The imprisoned father of a ten-year-old girl in the apparent final stages of a battle with brain cancer was allowed to have a half-hour, supervised visit with her Wednesday, according to CBS affiliate KMTV in Lincoln, Neb.

Jayci Yeager's last wish was to see Jason Yaeger, but the warden of a federal prison camp in South Dakota, where Jason has a year left on a five-and-a-half year, drug-related sentence, has been resisting Jason's efforts to be released early to a halfway-house to enable him to spend more time with Jayci.

The warden had granted Jason two other brief, escorted trips.

Jayci is in a Lincoln hospice.

Jayci's family members say they believe she knew Jason was there Wednesday, because they noted a spike in her heart rate during the visit.

Jason has gone so far as to appeal to President Bush for clemency. His case is pending before a federal judge.

For complete details on this story, click here.

KMTV says, "The general public is invited to visit and pass along their thoughts on Jayci's personal Web pages, on www.CarePages.com. Search for "JayciYaegersjourney."

To help the Yaeger family:

Jayci Yaeger Fund
Wells Fargo Bank
1248 "O" Street
Lincoln, Neb. 68508

To contact the Yaeger family:

C/O Yaeger Family
PO Box 5818
Lincoln, Neb. 68505-5818


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Add a Comment See all 45 Comments
by toolmangler-2009 March 30, 2008 8:55 PM EDT
I don''''t have sympathy for anyone in jail.
Posted by klaviergrd at 01:26 PM : Mar 28, 2008



If a dying child asked you if she could see her Daddy before she died, Tell me, straight, would you tell her no, (if it were in your power tto grant the request)?
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by ladairmy March 28, 2008 8:13 PM EDT
You all need to pull your head out and understand that the dad was not looking for pitty, he wanted to be there for his daughter!!! THIS IS ABOUT THAT BABY GIRL...the story is about her, not him so quit making it seem as if it''s anything different! And I agree, I hope that warden spends all of his hard times ALONE AND JUST AS SCARED AS THAT LITTLE GIRL WAS, all she wanted was her daddy by her side so that she could die in peace and that jerk took it from her...and he''s in charge of thousands of other lives, I feel sorry for them!
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by texasllcv March 28, 2008 5:20 PM EDT
Here''s a really sad note...The poor little thing was diagnosed 7 years ago. What a shame her dad couldn''t stay clean back then since he had a daughter facing such a mountain. Or maybe the cancer diagnosis had something to do with why he was involved with drugs...God bless this precious little angel.
Reply to this comment
by klavergrd March 28, 2008 4:26 PM EDT
I agree with many that he did the crime, so serve the time. Now that this one has had visits, how many more costly requests will be granted for thieves and criminals "in the name of the family"? As a veteran that has missed many family births, deaths and other occassions, I don''t have sympathy for anyone in jail.
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by bamiej March 28, 2008 3:07 PM EDT
I''m glad she got to see her father one last time. So sorry to her family for their loss.
Reply to this comment
by vapelloni March 28, 2008 2:34 PM EDT
This little angle has now gone to heaven. May God enbrace her. I have two thoughts: 1) May her family find piece in the fact her suffering is over, And 2) when it is that warden''s time to pass away, I hope he is all ALONE!!!!
Reply to this comment
by gopack443 March 28, 2008 2:23 PM EDT
There is a real simple way to decide if he should be allowed to move to a halfway house.
Ask this victim!
And if there isn''t one to ask why is he in prison in the first place?
Reply to this comment
by gopack443 March 28, 2008 2:23 PM EDT
There is a real simple way to decide if he should be allowed to move to a halfway house.
Ask this victim!
And if there isn''t one to ask why is he in prison in the first place?
Reply to this comment
by mamba_dude March 28, 2008 11:02 AM EDT
What a terribly sad story. It is a shame that a convict was allowed out of prison to visit a dying family member. I have no idea about the numbers, but I believe it''s safe to assume that many, many prisoners lose loved ones every day. Should we now make exceptions for those prisoners as well? And for you people who think drug laws do more harm than the drugs-- Pull your head out and stop your idiocy. If people were a little less willing to tolerate illicit behavior and coddle those who break the law, we wouldn''t have the problems we have. I REALLY hate to agree with Senator Clinton, but it truly does "Take a Village"
Reply to this comment
by runningralph March 28, 2008 10:33 AM EDT
Drug abuse is a terrible thing. It is prevalent is our society to the point that people are afraid to stand up and condemn it for fear that their condemnation will have bad consequences for themselves. It was drug abuse that deprived this poor child of a father.
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by cfin5 March 28, 2008 1:30 AM EDT
I hope the Warden lets him have another time to see her with no media around. The allowed time had to seem like a second. If I was on that bed, and that age,.....I would latch onto my Dad and cry. Don''t think I could even talk. Sometimes words are lesser spoke than crying. I LOVE my ***Mom and Dad***!!! I want them both to be proud of their first born son that I am. I do not want to do anything that would make their name to stink in public........Please, would somebody in greater authority ensure that that little girl''s Constitutional and Humanitarian rights are honored........She did nothing wrong!
Reply to this comment
by termtex01 March 28, 2008 1:19 AM EDT
Posted by LovetheChild at 07:54 PM : Mar 27, 2008
I do not need your authority to make judgments, as you have no authority to grant or deny that right to others. And God gave me the ability to think and the power of free will, so in Him I am allowed to judge.
This is not about the daughter; it is about what kind of man deserts his family to get lost in drugs. He deserves his punishment, which includes the pain he feels being separated from his family by his actions WHEN HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE FOR THEM!
As for your pet peeve, it applies directly to this man, so who is judging now?
I have gone through the deaths of numerous loved ones and close associates, and I wasn%u2019t locked away in prison at their deaths because of drug use. I am currently the court appointed guardian of another close relative. So you have no place or standing to judge my opinion.
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by March 28, 2008 12:28 AM EDT
LORI YEAGER, Any aware human can see in your child the loving qualities that have ever existed in anyone that they have ever really loved. Its a shame at age 10 she had to sense the separation of all she has ever known. Believe me, the world feels also pain of losing one from her only loves at anytime but also so soon.
Reply to this comment
by lovethechild March 27, 2008 10:54 PM EDT
You are not given the authority to judge this man. God didn''t give it to you, and neither do I.

So, because you refuse to forgive him for what he did (I''m sure you''ve never met any of these people) and because his daughter forgives him and loves him none the less, you deem she should die alone without him.

Nice guy, you are not.

I am a hospice trained nurse. You are talking to the wrong person here. Get educated on what matters, and what does not. On your time, your dime.

How would you treat a child of a prisoner? Would you let your child play with them, or would you scorn them and treat them as a leper as much of our society does?

Arrogance and Ignorance are not flattering.

Another one of my personal peeves, the people who lack the inner strength to see someone through to their death when they are terminal because it causes them too much pain. Shame on any one of you, if this would apply!

No One Should Bury A Child! And you judge Jason for not being "stronger"??? And what would you have done if it was your own? You can''t say, b/c it hasn''t happened to you.

Walk a Mile in a Mans Shoes before You Stone Him...

Reply to this comment
by termtex01 March 27, 2008 9:44 PM EDT
Hey, LovetheChild, answer me this...

If his daughter wsa diagnosed with cancer, and 3 years later he''s caught using drugs and gets sent to prison for it, how is that our problem? WHy should he be treated any different than any other criminal?

He did the crime YEARS after his daughter first became ill. I''d''ve said let him stay im prison. What kind of father loses himself in drugs when his daughter is fighting brain cancer?
Reply to this comment
by termtex01 March 27, 2008 9:40 PM EDT
"He is serving time for drug crimes, and like others here, most likely was doing so to pay for the rediculous cost of healthcare.

Posted by mainemade at 06:38 PM : Mar 27, 2008"

Gotta correct you on that. He was busted for using drugs, about 3 years AFTER his daughter was diagnosed with brain cancer.
Reply to this comment
by mainemade March 27, 2008 9:38 PM EDT
Just where do these people think he would go if they let him out to see his daughter? The dying know when and who is around them when the die. Seems to me this warden and other power players involved are the ones trying to play God. He is serving time for drug crimes, and like others here, most likely was doing so to pay for the rediculous cost of healthcare. Less then a year left. And all we keep hearing in the media is about prison over-crowding!
Talk about HEARTLESS!!

Reply to this comment
by lovethechild March 27, 2008 8:22 PM EDT
Here is Lori''s Email, titled "This is Me, Lori!", written by Lori Yaeger this morning. (I have written permission to publish any of our correspondences.)

"There is all sorts of incorrect media flying from coast to coast this morning. Here are the FACTS. PLEASE READ SLOWLY AND REPORT ACCURATELY.

Jason WAS escorted to Lincoln yesterday by 2 men. He WAS NOT in handcuffs, etc. NOT.

Jason%u2019s visit was NOT 3 hours. It was far less than one hour and his actual time by her side was very minimal. 15-20 minutes at most. AT THE MOST and even then, it wasn%u2019t just with her in the room.

Jason DOES know how to talk with Jayci about death. HE DID NOT need coaching from staff.

Jayci%u2019s condition DID NOT IMPROVE while he was there. Her breathing became labored. SHE KNEW HE WAS THERE.

If Jason & Jayci were the only ones in the room, then WHO were the other 8-12 people that I spoke with? When I MYSELF was in there, the guards WEREN%u2019T!

Jason himself told me %u2018they%u2019re just doing this to make themselves look good%u2019. QUOTE HIM. QUOTE ME."

Reply to this comment
by lovethechild March 27, 2008 8:13 PM EDT
Continutation of "This is Me, Lori!", written by Lori Yaeger this morning.

Somehow KETV, channel 7 in Omaha, was notified that Jason was here and was sending a news crew in. They swooshed Jason away. KETV DENIED Jason his final quality time with Jayci.

WHO called KETV? Was this set-up from the get-go to show that the warden %u2018has compassion%u2019 but then they yank him away suddenly because of a threat of a news agency %u2018on the way?%u2019

PLEASE, let your listeners know the FACTS. Let them know too that now more than ever, we need to send letters & call the warden. He was DENIED the proper good-bye, yes, nice gesture warden, but WHO called the media and why was he whisked away so suddenly? "

Thank YOU!
Lori Yaeger

Reply to this comment
by navyvet77 March 27, 2008 6:41 PM EDT
If there is a god, he''''''''s got a lot of explaining to do.
Posted by oleander8
-----------------------------------------------------

I believe that God does answer all prayers. Sometimes its yes, sometimes it%u2019s no usually its "I''ve already given you what you need to help you.....you call it a brain"
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