Ann Stewart says five minutes in front of her daughter's confessed killer won't ease her own "lifetime sentence" of pain.
That's the time the Murray woman will be allowed to speak at Jason Garcia's first parole hearing Friday at the Iron County Correctional Facility.Garcia, 19, confessed last May to the shooting death of his former girlfriend, Monica Vigil. His plea garnered him a reduced manslaughter conviction, a second-degree felony with a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
The Board of Pardons and Parole reviews each inmate's case within a year after a prison sentence begins, but parole dates are rarely given in cases where violence or death are involved.
"Jason committed a crime that my family and I will have to deal with for the rest of our lives," said Stewart. "I can't even begin to express my emotions to Jason and the parole board in just five minutes."
Despite limitations at Friday's hearing, Stewart insists her message will be heard. She recently mailed a 12-page letter to the state Board of Pardons and Parole urging members to keep Garcia locked-up for his entire sentence.
Regardless of the board's decision, Stewart says Garcia is getting off easy.
"Even if Jason were to spend the entire time of his 15-year sentence behind bars, he will still be a relatively young man when he is released and (he'll) have the opportunity to start his life all over again," she wrote. "No matter how difficult his prison time might be to him, it cannot begin to have the impact on his life that his horrible crime had on us."
Stewart adds her family's pain in the aftermath of Vigil's slaying has been magnified by a series of financial setbacks. In the past 15 months, she has been evicted from her apartment, had her home robbed and lost her job, leaving her thousands of dollars in debt.
"The money we received from the victims reparations funds did not even cover the cost of my daughter's funeral," said Stewart, who is now working at a local animal clinic.
Recalling Vigil's life, says Stewart, helps ease the sting of her violent death. She is writing a book about her daughter and frequently talks about Vigil with her two sons to keep their sister's memory alive.
Friday's parole hearing will likely mark one of many future legal proceedings of interest for Stewart. Her brother, Aaron Chapman, was shot to death in September 1993 during an alleged gang-related confrontation after a concert at the Triad Center.
Asi Mohi is charged with murder in that case. Vigil, whom Stewart calls a hero for trying to save Chapman's life that evening, was one of two eyewitnesses slated to testify for the prosecution.