NJFFSA16
10-14-2002, 04:15 AM
Prison inmates' survivors won't get benefits
(Salt Lake City-AP) -- The children of two Utah State Prison
inmates who died fighting a 2000 wildfire in Tooele County have
once again been denied death benefits by the federal government.
A U-S Department of Justice administrative hearing officer last
month denied the appeal filed on behalf of 12-year-old Natasha
Whittaker and five-year-old Raymond Braithwaite.
Whittaker's father, Michael Todd Bishop, 27, died August 23,
2000, along with 26-year-old Rodgie Braithwaite. The two were
members of the prison's Flame-In-Go inmate firefighter program,
which is overseen by the state Division of Forestry, Fire and State
Lands.
Bishop and Braithwaite were fighting a fire in the Stansbury
Mountains and were struck by a bolt of lightning as they sought
shelter from a storm.
(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
(Salt Lake City-AP) -- The children of two Utah State Prison
inmates who died fighting a 2000 wildfire in Tooele County have
once again been denied death benefits by the federal government.
A U-S Department of Justice administrative hearing officer last
month denied the appeal filed on behalf of 12-year-old Natasha
Whittaker and five-year-old Raymond Braithwaite.
Whittaker's father, Michael Todd Bishop, 27, died August 23,
2000, along with 26-year-old Rodgie Braithwaite. The two were
members of the prison's Flame-In-Go inmate firefighter program,
which is overseen by the state Division of Forestry, Fire and State
Lands.
Bishop and Braithwaite were fighting a fire in the Stansbury
Mountains and were struck by a bolt of lightning as they sought
shelter from a storm.
(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)