UPDATE: PLEASE JOIN OUR "FREE DAVID BARNETT" FACEBOOK GROUP WHICH HELPS US FIGHT FOR HIS FREEDOM! https://www.facebook.com/groups/loveandsolidaritydmb

UPDATE: DAVID'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY "FORSAKEN ME: A SURVIVOR'S LIFE SENTENCE" IS NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087C65WNG/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=lauren+provost+david+barnett&qid=1587396984&sr=8-1

After decades of watching John, David Barnett's "father" and abuser, adopt boy after boy to molest, David was horrified that John was about to adopt another victim. Not yet out of adolescence, David had no one left to turn to. David had to make a choice: To sit on the sidelines and say nothing or to gather the courage to let his grandparents know. David, ever the protector, wanted to do the right thing. He had tried for years to protect his siblings from John but David was just a child himself.

David had tried desperately for years to report the abuse to Missouri teachers, law enforcement and the Department of Family Services (D.F.S.) held multiple records of documented physical and sexual abuse for years. No one intervened. The abuse continued until the very day of February 4, 1996, the day David came to tell his grandparents that another young boy was about to be adopted by their son, a pedophile.

Even then, David was determined to do the right thing. Petrified to confront his grandparents for help, but determined to do the right thing, he tried as best as he could to try to communicate to his grandparents. He could not bear the thought of another young boy being abused and what he knew what coming for this young boy at the hands of John; abuse that was well-documented with a consistent pattern typical of all abusers, well documented in research.

In fact, we all know that childhood andadolescence is the most critical time in our development. It's when we learn about interpersonal relationships and how to effectively manage our emotions. Childhood and adolescent trauma can completely disrupt this experience, and as a result, people may not adequately learn how to manage their emotions or negotiate interpersonal relationships. David was never given a chance.

David's case aligns perfectly with cases where full rehabilitation is a result; when a victim is removed from an ongoing horrifically abusive environment. As you will soon read, David, part of the Honors Dorm at Potosi Correctional Center, has participated in every therapeutic support and a myriad of classes, training and other activities where he has repeated demonstrated his consistently stellar behavior, remorse, incredible growth, empathy and substantial work to become the human being he is now able to be without constant, ongoing, horrific abuse.

David has spent 24 years paying for abuse and is harder on himself than anyone else could ever be. Please, I beg you, give David a chance at a life free of abuse after the extensive work he's done that clearly shows he is more than ready. After years of pleas for help and negligence from multiple reporting agencies, David had a right to freedom.