To the Editor,
My mother is Frances Persad, who was murdered by Dane Locklear Jr. on Feb. 27, 2000. The Robesonian has frequently printed falsehoods and been disrespectful to our family, most recently in your article on Locklear’s re-sentencing.
The Robesonian on Feb. 28, 2000, ran a front page picture of the SBI moving my mother’s body on a stretcher. That picture was disrespectful and unwarranted. Who would want to see their murdered loved one carried covered with a white sheet blasted on the front of the paper?
A jury of 12 of Locklear’s peers determined in 2005 he wasn’t mentally retarded. An IQ of 65 does not automatically mean a person is mentally retarded. There were scores of 68 and 69 which your article failed to mention. As for the deficiencies, Locklear’s attorneys argued such as poor social skills and limited work skills, these can be attributed to Locklear’s crack cocaine addiction. Your recent article misleads the reader into believing the NC Supreme Court believed that Locklear is mentally retarded. If that were true, that part of his conviction would have been overturned.
Dr. Timothy Hancock called it a “slam-dunk” case for mental retardation. During the trial Dr. Hancock brought with him a carrying bag to court daily in which he kept his dog in. This “expert” is going to testify on someone else’s mental state when he suffers from such “separation anxiety” that he cannot leave his dog at home?
How many people can kill Cindy Wheeler, hide her body to not be found for months and elude arrest for over two years who are mentally retarded? He beat my mother with a 2-by-4 as she begged for her life, setting her house on fire while she was still alive. He allegedly raped Cindy Wheeler and beat her to death when she threatened to go to the police. These are Locklear’s own words in his taped confession.
Where was The Robesonian on July 9, 2012, to quote Frank Wheeler saying “I will probably die before I ever get justice for my Cindy?” Did The Robesonian forget this quote from June 16, 2005, from the Editor’s Desk, “But North Carolina provides for the death penalty, and seldom is it more warranted than in the case of Dane Locklear Jr.”
David Singh
Lumberton
Your mother and Cindy are not the ONLY VICTIMS of this man. Unfortunately, RCSD does not have a "cold case unit" and the commissioners will not fund one. If they did, they would find a man by the last name of Jacobs among his victims (his sister has a billboard on I-95 about him.)
Everyone deserves "justice" but getting it is an entirely different thing in this county.
I know how you feel, my brother was shot and died 3 times and God brought him back. Today, we have yet to get "justice" and no one is helping us either. They say it was a "gang shooting" but my brother just wore a red shirt to his birthday party in SC. I just thank God we have a greater judge than Robeson County could ever offer.
My heart and prayers go out to you.