My name is Bethany. I am the eldest daughter of Alfred Bourgeois. My father was actively involved in my life until the age of 17, following my sister's tragic death and my father's wrongful arrest. My father met Ja’karenn for the first time 6 weeks before her death, taking custody of her at her mother’s request. During those 6 weeks, I personally interacted with my sister Ja’karenn a multitude of times. Because of these frequent interactions, I was eager to testify and inform the court that innocent moments were being converted into fabricated exaggerations with the evilest and the most wicked intent. However, I along with innumerable other family members, friends, and medical experts were not allowed to testify in my father's defense.

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2 days before his death, I was given a total of 4 hours to talk to my Dad. It was the first time I heard his voice after almost 19 years, as he was the “Only” inmate not allowed contact with loved ones.  

During this conversation, my father had the opportunity to share with me one of his biggest regrets- listening to his wife in a moment of panic. As he & his 6-year-old daughter, were unloading his rig, he & the staff felt shaking coming from inside the 18-wheeler. He enters to find his daughter, Ja'Karenn, laying lifeless as his spouse screams, cries, & attempts to do CPR. He immediately asked her what happened to which she replied “I don’t know! I think she’s dying! Oh my God, Alfred, she’s dying!”

He abruptly heads to leave the truck in search of help but his wife stops him filled with panic. Her fear was that the family would be accused & arrested for something they did not do- so she instructed my father that it’d be best to “gently place Ja'Karenn on the ground outside of the truck" & per his wife’s advice- say that Ja'Karenn fell.

As his wife perturbates with her greatest concern not being the death of a child, but fears of going to jail- His 6-year-old & infant daughters are crying & screaming, while the other daughter lays lifeless for unknown reasons. Ja'Karenn is brought to the hospital where she dies the next day. Although there are NO signs of abuse OR rape- a child died & 2 adults lied about it.

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The prosecution initially suspects my father’s wife- trying everything in their power to get him to turn against her & say that she killed Ja'Karenn. But he refuses to say anything negative about his spouse & tells the FBI he’d never speak badly about her. To protect her, he continues to use the same narrative- that his daughter fell out of his truck, thinking this would save his wife in the case she was in danger.

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Little did he know that ONLY 3 SHORT DAYS LATER- his wife was FREE after making a deal with the prosecution to testify against him. Hypernatremia was not commonly known during this era, thus not being the initial medical presumption. Lies are fabricated to create a narrative in an attempt to explain the swelling in the brain. 

Initially proclaiming her father’s innocence & stating that her mother fabricated the story about the fall because she was afraid of prison, his 6-year-old daughter was returned to her mother where she resided for over a year, speaking only with the prosecution.

After being “instructed” what to say by the prosecution during my father’s 2004 trial, the same 6-year-old daughter, who initially swore her father was innocent, was now blaming him for unspeakable crimes he did not commit.

Myself, along with 20+ witnesses, were subpoenaed to testify by my father’s Defense team at his 2004 trial. With high hopes of being able to speak positively about him, we were all notified that we would not be used for my father’s defense only "MINUTES" before the start of the trial. In fact, we were not even allowed in the courtroom to see what was taking place. The jury heard only one side & saw no one who cared. 

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​In Recent Communications with Government Pathologist, Dr. Rouse Exhibited a Hesitancy About Her Conclusions as to the Cause of Death and Expressed a Willingness to Consider the Opinion of Another Neuropathologist. Countless additional medical experts & specialists with 40+ years of knowledge ALL agreed there was NO ABUSE or RAPE. The media was not made aware of this because EVERY expert (Neuro) physician who wanted to testify stating rape never occurred & the brain swelling was inconsistent with abuse were NEVER allowed to testify. The Defense did not return their calls until the day of my father's trial- making these expert testimonies inadmissible to be used in court.

My father remained an innocent man on death row for 18.5 years, mainly in solitary confinement. I was not privy to the evidence being shared until a few days after my father’s execution- which was horribly botched.

A federal execution was built on a lie in what is believed to be a grave injustice to the judicial system and American democracy as an entirety. There is not just one injustice that has occurred, but multiple on State, Federal, and Supreme Court levels.

My father had no voice and unjustly spent 18 years OR 6,570 days of his life only to be executed for a crime legal evidence confirmed he did not commit. He was wrongfully executed without a fair trial because the love of power took precedence over the love of justice. It is our wish to bring global awareness to the continued needed changes of judicial civility.

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