By Tina Comeau
THE VANGUARD
NovaNewsNow.com
On the final day of testimony and evidence at a faint hope hearing in Yarmouth on Wednesday, June 2, the jury heard from two people who are serving a life sentence because of a 1992 double shooting.
Clayton Otis Jacquard, 38, is serving a life sentence in prison for the first-degree murder of his former stepfather Alexander (Sandy) Hurlburt and has applied to the court for the possibility of seeking early parole.
But Barbara Wilkinson is also serving a life sentence, she told the jury in a victim impact statement she read. Her imprisonment comes from the physical and emotional injuries she’s suffered since the day she was shot by Jacquard.
As the Crown pointed out, Wilkinson can’t seek an early release from her pain and suffering. Nor can Hurlburt.
“He can’t apply early to get out of death,” Crown attorney Mark Heerema said.
Wilkinson, who walks with two canes and has visible scars on her hand – she was shot in the hip and the hand while in her bedroom on Dec. 17, 1992 – said the shootings killed her soulmate and left her permanently disabled. She is no longer able to work. She has become cautious of others, and finds it difficult – if not impossible – to place trust in other people.
At times during the reading of her victim impact statement she was overcome with emotion, crying quietly as she spoke.
She spoke of the extensive treatment and reconstructive surgeries she required in the months following the shooting. Bones were shattered in her right hip and her left hand, from the thumb to her index finger, was completely destroyed. By April 1993, she was still totally incapacitated and had to learn how to walk again.
Although nearly 18 years have passed since the shooting, its aftermath still has a profound and negative effect on her daily activities.
And her personality has changed, she said. Prior to the shooting she described herself as a person who was very friendly, outgoing, able to strike up a conversation with anyone, even a stranger. Now she still finds herself unable to regain trust, not only with strangers, but with friends and family too.
And any loud or sudden noise – a car backfiring, a clap of lightning, the sound of gunshots during hunting season – automatically brings her back to that night.
“The effect is so profound I find myself locking my doors,” she said.
Wilkinson has also chosen never to re-enter into a relationship, as she strongly feels that she was targeted on the night of the shooting, even though Jacquard says he has no explanation for why he shot her. Wilkinson fears that if Jacquard is released from prison, he will come after her.
On the witness stand Jacquard told the court and Wilkinson that she has no reason to fear him. Still, she cannot let go of that fear.
Wilkinson also strongly feels that Jacquard has no remorse for the pain he has caused and that he should have to serve his entire life sentence and not be allowed to seek early parole. She told the jury that while Jacquard is incarcerated, at her expense, he has opportunities to further his education, he can learn a trade, he receives three square meals a day and can exercise in a fitness centre.
“Once he is released, he will regain his freedom, a freedom I no longer have,” she said. “I hope that my appearance here today encourages you to look at the request of the victims, not the criminals.”
In addition to Wilkinson, Sandy Hurlburt's brother and sister also submitted victim impact statements. In addition to talking about their own family's loss, they both expressed their concern for Wilkinson.
