The People v. Alfred Bourgeois : The Execution of Innocence

The People v. Alfred Bourgeois : The Execution of Innocence

*Call President Biden to demand a posthumous exoneration for Alfred Bourgeois: Comments: 202-456-1111 / Switchboard: 202-456-1414

On December 11, 2020, Alfred Bourgeois, was one of the thirteen inmates executed by the federal government in Terre Haute, Indiana, during the rushed final executions of the first Trump administration, for the June 2002 murder and sexual assault of his toddler daughter Ja’karenn Harrison.  Since the execution, Alfred’s oldest daughter Bethany Bourgeois has worked tirelessly to share with the world what she already knows, our government executed an innocent man.

Bethany had reached out to me before… I believe it was a couple of years ago. But it’s hard to always respond or take on injustices of this extent, knowing that so many innocent people are living… and they need saving too. Because of this, I usually don’t dedicate too much time to posthumous exoneration requests. A couple of weeks ago, I was doing a press conference and I heard Bethany speak. At that moment, I could tell that this was a woman who truly cared about getting justice for her Dad and that touched me. Before reaching out to her, I had to be sure for myself.

I didn’t want to put “my name” and all that I’ve been fighting for on the line- declaring someone innocent who was guilty of a treacherous crime- especially the murder of a child. So, I began reading the website AlfredBourgeois.com and I couldn’t believe what I was reading. The website had all the evidence I needed to see- and because of it- I am convinced that Alfred Bourgeois was an innocent man.

Consider these refutations of accusations on the website / https://www.alfredbourgeois.com/:

Accusation 1: The rape & molestation of his 2-year-old daughter

The Proof/Refutation:

Only last year, the same physician used to prosecute Mr. Bourgeois stated that she may have made an error- 18.5 years later! At Mr. Bourgeois’s 2004 trial, the prosecution used an expert pathologist & rape specialist, Dr. Rouse, who confirmed along with her SANE nurse (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) that Ja’karenn displayed absolutely “NO” signs of rape.  *See documentation on the website.

Accusation 2: Blunt-Force Trauma caused by slamming his 2 year-old daughter’s head into his 18-wheeler window, thus killing her on impact while unloading at a Corpus Christi Texas naval base.

The Proof/Refutation:

The “Only” individuals who were alone in the truck with Ja’karenn at the time she went unconscious was Alfred’s wife, Robin & his 1-year-old infant daughter. Mr. Bourgeois was unloading his truck when he & other workers felt shaking coming from inside the truck cabin. Following the shaking, Mr. Bourgeois walked in to see his wife performing CPR as Jakarenn’s body lay lifeless on the floor.

Below is a scanned copy of the “ACTUAL FINDINGS” of Ja’karenn’s 2002 autopsy. We ask that you try to get past the medical jargon & focus on the highlighted sections, which blatantly confirm 2 things.

1. There was NO fractured skull, meaning the story of Alfred Bourgeois banging his daughter’s head into his truck window NEVER took place.

2. The autopsy confirms the hematomas were at a minimum- 1 WEEK OLD. If the hematomas were in fact “1 week old”- this FURTHER confirms the story of Alfred Bourgeois banging his daughter’s head into his truck window was FABRICATED.

When investigators searched the truck for signs of battery or blood, they could find none.

Accusation 3: The torture & abuse of his 2 year-old daughter leading up to the date of her death, June 27, 2002

The Proof/Refutation:

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1. One of the lead medical experts & the “Prosecution’s own physician used to convict Mr. Bourgeois”, later admitted she biasedly gave her report & testimony based principally on the allegations made by Mr. Bourgeois’s spouse. In Recent Communications with this physician, Dr. Rouse, she Exhibited a Hesitancy About Her Conclusions as to the Cause of Death and Expressed a Willingness to Consider the Opinion of Another Neuropathologist. Countless medical reports from experts & specialists with 30+ years of knowledge ALL agreed there was NO ABUSE. Duplicitously, EVERY expert neurologist who wanted to testify stating the brain swelling was inconsistent with abuse were NEVER allowed to testify. The Defense refused to return their calls for weeks to months, until the day of Alfred Bourgeois’s trial- making these expert testimonies inadmissible to be used in court. Therefore, the jury heard none of it.

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2. A cousin of Alfred’s former wife, Robin, interacted with Ja’karenn the “DAY BEFORE HER DEATH”- making no reports to authorities of alleged signs of abuse. Robin’s testimony initially accused Mr. Bourgeois of forcing his 2 year-old-daughter to remain seated on her potty during a hot Summer day. She later perjured her allegation by testifying that upon returning to the Bourgeois residence, she immediately left with her cousin Jason to visit a Utility Assistance Provider & was gone for hours. This statement confirms that Robin was not present to know exactly where Ja’karenn was during this short period of time. Before heading to Corpus Christi, Texas later that night, the family stayed at their home for approximately 5 hours, giving Jason plenty of time to interact with Ja’karenn & observe visible signs of abuse. However, abuse was never reported.

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3. Ja’karenn interacted with countless family members throughout this period of time & showed absolutely no signs or indications of abuse- including Robin’s Uncle who also resided at the Bourgeois residence & per her testimony, “watched the children when the Bourgeois’s were away”. Although extremely relevant to Alfred Bourgeois’s case, Robin’s Uncle was never asked to appear in court, nor was he questioned by the Defense or Prosecution.

Accusation 4: Forcing his 2 year-old-daughter to sit on her potty for 23 hours per day

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The Proof/Refutation:

Ja’karenn sat on her potty because it also converted to a toddler chair. Alfred Bourgeois NEVER “Forced” her to sit on it. Ja’karenn loved watching TV and the toddler chair happened to be the perfect height. After watching cartoons for hours, Mr. Bourgeois would chuckle, stating “That girl loves her dang cartoons.”  He’d then tell Ja’karenn to go play with her sister instead of being glued to the TV. Realizing that it can be difficult for people to visualize something they’ve never seen and put it into context, pictured below, is an example of Ja’Karenn’s 2002 potty chair.

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If a child was forced to remain seated for an extended amount of time each day, skin breakdown would be present on the buttocks. Ja’karenn’s autopsy showed “No signs of skin breakdown”.

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During Mr. Bourgeois’s trial, his 6-year-old daughter Alfredesha, was forced to testify against him. She initially proclaimed her father’s innocence before changing her story after living with her mother for over 1 year following Mr. Bourgeois’s arrest and ONLY speaking to the prosecution. Unintentionally, the 6-year-old announced 2 important facts.

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1) Her 2-year-old sister, Ja’karenn, followed her EVERYWHERE. If Ja’karenn followed her sister everywhere, how could she be glued to a potty?

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2) When being questioned during a moment of confusion, the 6-year-old witness stated “That was Mommy’s part to say”, validating the exponential inculcation of the prosecution’s influence.

Words from Bethany Bourgeois:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

*Call President Biden to demand a posthumous exoneration for Alfred Bourgeois: Comments: 202-456-1111 / Switchboard: 202-456-1414