As I was preparing to attend the memorial service for a friend that died recently, Kelly alerted me to some news. She has received an answer from Governor McAuliffe and the answer was "no." He has denied her request for a conditional pardon that would do no more than allow her to apply for parole. She would still serve a life sentence, she would still be a prisoner of the Commonwealth, and she would be forever branded as a felon. She just asked for Virginia to recognize all that she has accomplished and to allow her the opportunity to ask for parole and for forgiveness. By so doing, the Governor has upheld the cruelty that was done to her as a juvenile. I often wonder at the humanity of the government and at it's faulty logic in Kelly's case. I wonder about the people who say that she does indeed deserve to die in prison. I began this initiative over 1 1/2 years ago. Since that time, over 585 people have stood with me and asked the Governor to do the right thing. We were all denied. Kelly told me when I began this journey that there would be tears and stumbles before the end and this is our first rejection. I am reminded of a quote that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once made, "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." For it is only in that silence that injustice flourishes. There are celebrities protesting right now for justice and fairness, many of them I have written myself. They were as silent as the grave. I have written to national campaigns and politicians and they were silent too. I also found silence with authors, attorneys, and other men and women of power. Everywhere I turned, I only found cold, impersonal silence. And then I got the news today and my heart broke. Not for myself, but for a woman with a beautiful and kind soul who was once again doomed to die locked away like an animal. For her aching heart, my soul mourns. But hope remains. Although we must wait for two years before we can re-apply, there is a bill winding it's way through the Virginia Senate. Senator Marsden of Fairfax has initiated legislation that will restore parole to all juveniles that have served 20 years of their sentences. So our fight will begin anew in the House and I will do all that I can to insure it's success. As for the petition, it shall remain so that the signatures can grow and Kelly's story can be told. One day, she shall be free. I know this because I have seen the Almighty's hand moving pieces into play. Kelly has a destiny and He will not allow that to be denied. We may have stumbled, but we have not failed nor have we fallen. I will call in the resources and people that I need to call, work with whomever I have to, and continue to advocate for Kelly Anne. I give you my word that I am in the fight for the duration and I will NEVER give it up until she is free once more. I do not ask you for that level of commitment, but instead to spread her story and to speak out against the silence. I beg you, do not allow the wall of silence to stand. God bless, Bill We will be silent, no more.