A letter From Jacqueline Perkins

Honorable Governor Gilmore,

What can we think?

What conclusions can we come to?

Perhaps you simply know something that the rest of the world doesn’t know. Perhaps you have connections or extremely reliable sources which make you BELIEVE, I dare say even KNOW beyond any doubt whatsoever that Derek Barnabei is guilty of the crime he is going to be executed for. I must give you the benefit of this doubt.

If you do not have connections or sources that allow you to know beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Barnabei is guilty, then we can only assume that you are simply “quite convinced” that he is. In either case, your decision making reflects that you deemed it unnecessary to investigate further into why the “sealed envelope” was not in its original storage place. As children of a nation where a great portion of its people was convinced that John F. Kennedy was killed by one “magic bullet”, we should just as easily forget how simple it is to re-glue a seal, or camouflage tampering of an envelope that appeared to be sealed. Evidently you ruled out this possibility, and we concerned citizens should just trustingly accept the destruction of this envelope afterwards with no explanation. Furthermore, we should also accept the fact that there was nothing strange or of any importance in that another container appeared to have been opened. I will continue assuming that you simply know something that the rest of the world doesn’t, because believe me, while you and your advisors find all of this natural enough to continue following through with the execution of a man, the WORLD-WIDE OPINION OF THESE EVENTS DOES NOT.

It is obvious to me that the family and supporters of Mr. Barnabei believe in his case enough to continue this battle no matter what happens on September 14. As far as my support is concerned, I will continue following the developments and writing letters to keep INFORMING people on what has really happened. I am the first to admit that I am not 100% convinced that Mr. Barnabei is innocent, BUT I AM BY NO MEANS CONVINCED THAT HE IS GUILTY. I am also 100% sure that I will not regret my involvement and support of his case in any way. Perhaps you will be lucky, Mr. Governor, that your “instincts” (if that’s what they are) regarding Mr. Barnabei’s guilt turn out to be right: I am taking for granted that with your history as prosecutor (and consequent expert knowledge of criminal prosecution in general), you are fully aware of all the affidavits of expert forensic consultants, witnesses, and documented papers outlining inconsistencies of prosecution testimony and mysterious disappearance of vital evidence that support the defense’s version of the events. It is MY opinion is that there are too many strange circumstances revolving around this case to order the execution of a man, and that your decision making must be based on other “elements”.

Therefore, if it does turn out that Mr. Barnabei is innocent, I will unite with others in a campaign like Virginia has never seen in its history to help restore justice where political games, and perhaps even corruption, had taken its place. You will not be able to hide behind claims of “not knowing” or “not thinking”, because we will have acknowledgement of your letters as proof that you had many opportunities to think more carefully on this issue through the help of public opinion. I will direct my voice to your voters and invest every second of my spare time making sure that they know the dynamics of this case thoroughly before they return to the polls, wherever you intend to continue your political career. I strongly recommend that you reconsider your stand on this issue. If nothing else, I demand an official statement on what procedures were used to determine whether or not the envelopes had been tampered with (I’m sure you didn’t just “look” at them) and above all who ordered that the one containing fingernails be destroyed minutes after examining its contents.

If those of us who are net yet convinced of Mr.Barnabei’s guilt end up determining beyond any reasonable doubt that he is indeed guilty we will certainly pay the “due moral consequences”. I will be the first to extend a formal apology to the Wisnosky family with a detailed explanation of why I followed up bad judgement with concrete actions. I hope that after reviewing the letters which I have written on Mr. Barnabei’s behalf, they would understand.

Name: Jacqueline Perkins
Email:
URL: http://
Date: 9/10/00
Time: 6:14:54 PM

Comment

Name: Jacqueline Perkins
Email:
URL: http://
Date: 8/16/00
Time: 3:45:36 PM

Comment

August 16, 2000

From: Jacqueline Perkins

To the Honorable Governor James Gilmore:

I am deeply sickened, saddened, appalled and overwhelmed by the events surrounding the State vs. Derek Barnabei case. First, there are no words to express how one feels upon learning of the horrifying, tragic way that Sarah Wisnosky’s life was ripped away from her. No young woman deserves to die this way, and no man or court can serve such a death justice. It is only concrete proof of the existence of evil in the world, and only the good deeds of good people with the help of God can prevent such evils from happening in the future.

As an American citizen teaching English and living abroad, one of the topics raised frequently when foreigners study our culture and language concerns our judicial system and the death penalty. I have had the opportunity to hear many opinions from students originating from an array of educational, racial, religious and economic backgrounds, and the topic often finds its way into teacher workrooms represented by countries from every corner of the earth. I assure you that the world wide opinion is 100% unanimous: irregardless of one’s opinion as to whether the death penalty is right or wrong, everyone agrees that

ALL MEN AND WOMEN HAVE THE RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL AND ARE INNONCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY BEYOND THE SHADOW OF A DOUBT.

If there is evidence to the contrary that a man is innocent and can no longer be considered PROVEN GUILTY BEYOND THE SHADOW OF A DOUBT and this evidence was not presented before the court during his trial; or if this evidence was NOT presented according to the laws prescribed by our constitution, or if there is evidence that this same evidence has been tampered with, perhaps by the very criminals themselves, the defense has the constitutional right to another chance before a court of law.

I am not an expert on the subject, but I am fully convinced of one fact: BARNABEI ABSOLUTELY MUST BE GRANTED whatever it takes to have another trial or time granted or any other route possible to have the DNA testing on Sarah Wisnosky’s fingernails and other evidence (I refer to the 60 pieces of evidence of which only 12 were tested and 10 have mysteriously disappeared) presented in a court of law. As little as I do know on the subject, I am absolutely positive that no matter what the current laws are, our constitution already guarantees him this right. If he is not granted this right and his death sentence is carried out, all who participated in his prosecution will be guilty of sentencing a man to death WITHOUT A FAIR TRIAL and without being sure BEYOND THE SHADOW OF A DOUBT that this man was guilty. More importantly, society could be guilty of MURDERING AN INNOCENT MAN. Reading every single page of the evidence available via internet, I repeat: IF I WERE A PART OF THE JURY, AND IF I HAD SEEN AND READ THE EVIDENCE PRESENTED BY THE DEFENSE (THAT I SAW AND READ VIA INTERNET) AS A MEMBER OF THE JURY IN A COURT OF LAW, AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME, NOTHING COULD CONVINCE ME THAT THIS MAN IS GUILTY BEYOND THE SHADOW OF A DOUBT OTHER THAN NEW EVIDENCE TO THE CONTRARY CURRENTLY NOT ON RECORD.

My great grandfather who was from the Norfolk area had eleven children, nine of whom survived to adult age and blessed me with hundreds of cousins, many of whom still live in the Norfolk; Virginia area. As a child of Virginia in many ways, I feel a deep and personal responsibility for the outcome of this case. I feel this responsibility towards Sarah: still a child, helpless, frightened and alone in those last desperate moments of her life. I WANT TO BE SURE THAT THE MAN WHO KILLED HER PAYS FOR THIS CRIME. I feel this responsibility towards Barnabei. I WANT TO BE SURE BEYOND THE SHADOW OF A DOUBT THAT BARNABEI IS THE MAN WHO KILLED HER BEFORE WE CONDEMN HIM, AND I FEEL THAT WE CAN NOT BE SURE OF THIS UNTIL FURTHER DNA TESTING HAS BEEN GRANTED AND THE OTHER EVIDENCE ON FILE (NOT TESTED OR PRESENTED) HAS BEEN PROPERLY PRESENTED IN A COURT OF LAW.

I am an English teacher, so my job is to help people learn to express their thoughts with words. For this reason, I have had a lot of practice putting what I myself think into words. Any person who studies his case as I did can only come to terms with what he thinks and what he feels in his heart as he reads the AFFIDAVITS AND REPORTS BY EXPERTS IN THE FIELD OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION (SEE THE AFFIDAVIT AND REPORT OF PAUL KISH;

IF THE PLEAS OF COMMON MORTALS AREN’T ENOUGH, LOOK AT WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY!!!!!!!):

FURTHER DNA TESTING AND FURTHER EXAMINATION OF ALL EVIDENCE MUST BE DONE BEFORE WE CAN MAKE A CORRECT AND ABOVE ALL...LAWFULL JUDGEMENT OF THIS MAN!!!!!! TO DENY EITHER IS TO DENY BOTH SARAH AND DEREK OF THEIR CONSTITUIONAL RIGHTS.

Honorable Governor, I say to you: if your own child were in the wrong place at the wrong time or had the wrong friends or had made a few errors and were wrongly accused and in danger of paying for a crime he hadn’t committed WITH HIS LIFE! IS THIS WHAT YOU WOULD WANT FOR HIM? If your own daughter had been savagely raped and murdered is this what you would want for HER??? Wouldn’t you want that the right man pay for this crime? And if you knew that there were a test or evidence that could provide solid proof as to whom exactly had committed this crime, wouldn’t you USE YOUR POWERS THAT PEOPLE AND GOD HAD GRANTED UPON YOU TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT?

Honorable Governor, you have these powers. Please, I beg you as a citizen of the United States and a citizen of the world, aware that my pleas may be for a guilty man, but I accept this responsibility: I PREFER TO MAKE THE MISTAKE OF DEFENDING A MAN THAT I FIND OUT LATER IS GUILTY THAN TO PASSIVELY SIT AND WATCH AN INNOCENT MAN DIE THAT I WAS TOO MUCH OF A COWARD TO DEFEND.... and pray that THE FEELINGS FROM MY HEART which make me believe that this case was not carried out according to constitutional law, but most of all that there is TRULY evidence to the fact that this man MAY BE INNOCENT; I beg you to listen to your heart, conscience, and the voice of God when making a decision; to take your power into your hands and stick out your neck in a gesture which can only be right in the eyes of all human beings, especially those who apply our own laws upon our fellow citizens. I say: DO UNTO THIS MAN AS YOU WOULD DO UNTO YOUR OWN CHILDREN.

Jacqueline Perkins