OKLAHOMA CITY - Relatives of an Oklahoma couple slain reportedly by two escaped prisoners from Arizona and an accomplice are seeking $40 million in damages, according to notice-of-claim letters the family's attorney said have been mailed to Gov. Jan Brewer and other officials.

Letters sent Wednesday by attorneys for the relatives of Gary and Linda Haas of Tecumseh allege their Aug. 2 deaths in New Mexico were the result of "a long series of egregious errors and omissions of gross negligence" by the Arizona Department of Corrections and officials at the state prison at Kingman, where the inmates escaped July 30.

The letters allege Arizona corrections officials and the prison's private operator, Utah-based Management & Training Corp., "set the stage for and permitted the careless and slipshod security environment" at the prison that allowed the inmates to escape and allegedly kidnap and kill the victims.

A spokesman for Brewer did not immediately return a call seeking comment. A spokesman for MTC said the company does not comment on pending litigation.

Escaped prisoners Tracy Province, 42, and John McCluskey, 45, and McCluskey's fiancee and cousin, Casslyn Welch, 44, are charged with capital murder and carjacking in the victim's deaths.