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FRIDAY, JANUARY 11, 2002

A White Earth Ojibwe couple who lost their 22-year-old son to a traffic accident told a judge on Wednesday of the lawless nature of their tribe's reservation and said the death could have been preventable.

Evelyn Thompson and her husband pleaded with a judge to bring justice for their son's accidental killer. Judge Richard Taylor sentenced Michael W. Goodwin, also a tribal member, to year in jail and 10 years of supervised probation for the July 2000 death.

But they also called on stricter enforcement of laws on the reservation. The tribe and two counties had a cross-deputization agreement but it was abandoned last year after local officials said it wasn't working.

Get the Story:
Victim's family seeks justice, reform (The Minneapolis Star Tribune 1/10)

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