Jason Yaeger visits dying daughter Wednesday

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BY KENDRA WALTKE / Lincoln Journal Star

Jayci Yaeger’s dying wish to see her father came true, although he was at her side for just a short time on Wednesday afternoon.

Jason Yaeger, jailed on a methamphetamine charge at the Federal Prison Camp at Yankton, S.D., was able to visit his 10-year-old daughter for  no more than 45 minutes, said his brother Ed Yaeger.

He was not sure of the exact time span because the family — including Jayci’s mother, Vonda — had no specific advance notice of the escorted visit.

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This photo was taken when prison officials allowed Jason Yaeger to visit his daughter, Jayci, several weeks ago. (Courtesy photo)

This photo was taken when prison officials allowed Jason Yaeger to visit his daughter, Jayci, several weeks ago. (Courtesy photo)

Jayci is in the last stages of a seven-year fight with cancer. She has been unresponsive since last week and is resting at a Lincoln hospice.

Jason Yaeger and two guards arrived at the hospice around 2 p.m. Wednesday, according to Ed Yaeger.

During the visit, Jason Yaeger was allowed to be alone with Jayci, and the family said her breathing became labored and heavy during that time.

The visit was cut short when the guards learned that a television crew from Omaha was in the hospice parking lot.

“We’re very angry about it,” Ed Yaeger said. “I don’t know if (the prison escorts) were under orders to do that, or what. They did not give any explanation at all.”

Ed Yaeger said the television crew was in an unmarked vehicle, and no one approached or tried to speak with his brother or the guards. He said a television news station’s report of a several-hour visit was false.

Federal Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman Traci Billingsley said she believed Jason Yaeger was in Lincoln for about an hour.

The guards likely did leave after hearing about the television crew, she said, both for privacy reasons and for safety and security concerns connected with transporting an inmate.

“It would be prudent,” she said.

Privacy concerns pertain to more people than just the inmate and his family, Billingsley said, including other hospice patients and their families, hospice staff and the guards escorting the inmate.

“The institution has taken very unusual steps to accommodate (Jason Yaeger) during this very difficult time. ... Most inmates are not given any escorted visits with dying family members,” she said.

Ed Yaeger said he spoke with  his brother around 6 p.m. Wednesday after his return to Yankton.

He said Jason Yaeger told him a white SUV, believed to be the TV station vehicle, followed the prison vehicle for a short time.

“It turned out to be a terrible fiasco,” Ed Yaeger said.

In a later phone conversation, he said, “We actually do appreciate everything the media is doing. It’s just a shame how it went.”

The family’s plight has drawn nationwide media attention, and many people have contacted the federal prison bureau and other federal officials on the family’s behalf.

Jason Yaeger also has requested a furlough, or extended visit, which would allow him to be with Jayci until her death and funeral.

Billingsley said the furlough was denied because of Jason Yaeger’s criminal history and because of “individuals with whom we believe he should be separate from who reside in the local area.”

Ed Yaeger said he has been told corrections officials fear for his brother’s safety, in that regard.

Billingsley said the inmate’s request for a compassionate release, which requires “extraordinary circumstances,” remains denied. That kind of release is generally granted to inmates who have terminal illnesses themselves, or are severely mentally or physically disabled, she said.

In regard to the four visits Jason Yaeger has been granted to see  Jayci since late October, Billingsley said, “It’s really an extraordinary effort on the part of the institution. We feel the institution has shown extreme compassion to him in his unfortunate situation.”

Over the course of the past few months, Jason Yaeger also has asked for an early release to a Council Bluffs, Iowa, halfway house, which would allow him to visit Jayci.

He recently asked President George W. Bush for clemency.

The family said they’ve had no word on those requests.

Jason Yaeger has one year left on a 5½-year sentence for possession and intent to distribute meth. He is set to be released to the Council Bluffs halfway house in August.

Another visit “would not be out of the question,” Billingsley said, although officials would keep the details secret because of privacy and security concerns.

Reach Kendra Waltke at 473-7303 or kwaltke@journalstar.com.