Current:Home > ScamsA woman who burned Wyoming’s only full-service abortion clinic is ordered to pay $298,000 -DataFinance
A woman who burned Wyoming’s only full-service abortion clinic is ordered to pay $298,000
View
Date:2025-04-15 06:53:40
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — 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 five years in prison for burning Wellspring Health Access weeks before the clinic was set to open in Casper in 2022. The fire gutted the building while it was being renovated for the new clinic and delayed its opening by almost a year.
After opening this past April, Wellspring is now the only abortion clinic in Wyoming. A clinic in Jackson that provided pill abortions closed Dec. 15 due to rising costs.
On Tuesday, U.S. 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. Burkhart expressed satisfaction with the restitution.
“Not only did we have the emotional struggle and that trauma from the arson but also it was quite challenging for us financially. So I’m glad this is the final piece and it has been put to rest,” Burkhart said Wednesday.
The restitution was identical to the amounts sought by prosecutors and unopposed by Green’s attorney, Ryan Semerad, who in an emailed statement said Wednesday that Green “looks forward to a productive and peaceful life after her term of incarceration.”
Green has expressed remorse for the crime, which she said was driven by anxiety and nightmares about the planned clinic. The Casper College mechanical engineering student had shown no sign of anti-abortion views on social media but told investigators she opposed abortion.
She admitted driving from Laramie to Casper, breaking into the clinic through a door and lighting gasoline she poured in trays and splashed on the floor. After months of little progress, investigators increased the reward to $15,000 and got tips leading to Green’s arrest in March.
Green pleaded guilty in June to arson and in September received the minimum prison sentence. She had faced up to 20 years in prison.
The arson and eventual opening of the clinic happened as new laws in Wyoming seek to ban abortion in nearly all cases. The laws, including the nation’s first explicit ban on abortion pills, have been 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 Dec. 14, Wyoming District Judge Melissa Owens is weighing whether to rule on the laws. Her decision would likely be appealed, putting Wyoming’s abortion laws before the state Supreme Court.
veryGood! (3789)
Related
- Former longtime South Carolina congressman John Spratt dies at 82
- Former Belarusian operative under Lukashenko goes on Swiss trial over enforced disappearances
- Historic banyan tree in Maui shows signs of growth after wildfire
- ‘It’s Just Too Close’: Pennsylvanians Who Live Near Fracking Suffer as Governments Fail to Buffer Homes
- Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
- Powerball jackpot soars over $600 million: When is the next drawing?
- Browns star Nick Chubb expected to miss rest of NFL season with 'very significant' knee injury
- Marilyn Manson sentenced to 20 hours community service, fined for blowing nose on videographer
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Once a global ideal, Germany’s economy struggles with an energy shock that’s exposing longtime flaws
Ranking
- Former Danish minister for Greenland discusses Trump's push to acquire island
- The boys are back: NSYNC Little People Collector figurines unveiled by Fisher-Price
- NFL Player Sergio Brown Is Missing, His Mom Myrtle Found Dead Near Creek
- Phoenix racetrack to end live racing, which means its OTB sites will close
- Selena Gomez's "Weird Uncles" Steve Martin and Martin Short React to Her Engagement
- Iran’s president denies sending drones and other weapons to Russia and decries US meddling
- Indian lawmakers attend their last session before moving to a new Parliament building
- Horoscopes Today, September 18, 2023
Recommendation
The city of Chicago is ordered to pay nearly $80M for a police chase that killed a 10
U.S. News' 2024 college ranking boosts public universities
Phoenix racetrack to end live racing, which means its OTB sites will close
Florida man shoots, kills neighbor who was trimming trees over property line, officials say
All That You Wanted to Know About She’s All That
Florida jury pool could give Trump an advantage in classified documents case
Young people think climate change is a top issue but when they vote, it's complicated
1 year after Mahsa Amini's death, Iranian activists still fighting for freedom