Nearly 200 people marched through the streets of Salem on Saturday in support of promoting civil rights and racial unity in Oregon.
Demonstrators of all ages chanted, sang and waved signs as they marched the seven blocks from Riverfront Park to the Capitol, where guest speakers rallied the crowd with speeches about the importance of unity among different minority groups.
Although the rally focused on unity in all aspects, the “catalyst” for the event was the case of Darrell Sky Walker, organizers said.
Walker, a black man, was convicted in April of manslaughter in the 2005 death of University student Phillip Gillins. Gillins, who was white, died from injuries sustained in a fight. Despite evidence that another man, Bryan “J.D.” Beall, bragged about throwing the fatal punch, Walker was sentenced to six years in prison and was denied a request for a new trial.
Alesia Williams-Walker, Walker’s mother, marched and spoke briefly at the rally. She said that as a mother, she knows her son is innocent and that her son is suffering for mistakes made by the Eugene District Attorney.
“My heart is deeply saddened,” she said. “The state has my son but they don’t want to hear the truth.”
Williams-Walker said she lives in California but will continue to travel to Oregon as often as possible until her son is released.
“I will not stop fighting until my son is a free man,” she said.
Williams-Walker, who said she speaks with her son on a daily basis, called him on a cellular phone after the rally to tell him about the turnout.
Speaking to the Emerald, Walker said he was “doing as good as I can” and that it felt good to know so many people turned out in support of his case. He said the one thing he would tell people about his case is that it was not looked at fairly.
“I think they looked and just saw the color of my skin,” he said. “They could have looked at the evidence but chose not to.”
Phillip Gillins’ father, Peter, said many of those critical of the verdict in the Walker case did not hear all the testimony against Walker. He said that at trial, three eyewitnesses claimed to have seen Walker punch Phillip Gillins.
“I sat through the trial. Mr. Alexander and some of the people criticizing the case did not, including (Williams-Walker),” he said. “I feel sorry for (Williams-Walker) and I understand her concern for her son, but I feel comfortable with the verdict of the jury.”
Peter Gillins said he is comfortable with Judge Gregory Foote’s decision to deny a new trial. He said he that new evidence regarding Beall’s involvement would not have changed the outcome.
“The jury heard four witnesses who presented similar evidence and chose not to believe it,” he said. University student Timothy Sutton was on the jury that convicted Walker and was one of two jurors who voted to acquit. He marched carrying a sign that read “an innocent man is in jail.” Williams-Walker called Sutton “a good man.”
Sutton said he voted to acquit because testimony of witnesses who heard Beall brag about punching Gillins and diagrams of the fight scene contradicted other testimony.
“There are so many factors involved,” he said. “No two people who testified had the same story, in terms of where people were or who was fighting.”
Beall pleaded the Fifth Amendment during questioning away from the jury. When the jury asked the judge why they hadn’t heard testimony from Beall or Ryan Joyce, another witness who may have seen Beall throw the punch, they were told to pay attention to the evidence presented, Sutton said. He said that after the jury read the verdict and went back to the jury room, the judge came in and told them Beall had pled the Fifth.
Sutton said most of the jury was undecided when the trial ended and only deliberated for three hours, on a Friday afternoon, before deciding to convict. Sutton said the other juror who voted to acquit was “unable to articulate” why she believed Walker was innocent, but said she had a gut feeling. Sutton said he tried to convince the others to vote to acquit but was unable to do so and still asks himself why those 10 people believed Walker was guilty.
“We looked at identical evidence, and I came to a different conclusion,” he said.
During the rally, Williams-Walker handed out a flier with questions her son had written about his case. Sutton said all the questions were “great” and that he was especially interested in Walker’s questions about diagrams which showed Gillins’ body to be at an angle at which only Beall could have punched him, something Sutton had noticed during the trial.
Sterling Alexander, the legal redress for the Salem-Keizer chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said Walker’s case is an example of racial inequality in Oregon. Alexander began investigating the case when Walker’s family contacted him following the conviction.
“To know that you’re sitting in jail and know that you’re innocent is hard,” he said.
Alexander said Saturday’s turnout was “wonderful” because it means people are starting to “see what’s going on.” He said Walker’s case “ignited my passion” to investigate other cases of racial injustice in Oregon’s criminal justice system.
He said he hopes more people will “stand up for people who can’t stand up for themselves.”
The rally was sponsored by the NAACP and PCUN (the Oregon’s farmworker union). Speakers from both groups spoke of the common problems faced by immigrants and the black community. Every speaker focused on the importance of unity between the two groups.
Ramon Ramirez, president of PCUN, said his organization, which fights for immigration rights and organizes workers, has a “good coalition” with the NAACP in Salem.
“It is important to unite with the NAACP because we have a lot more in common than different,” he said.
Ramirez said the relationship between the two groups is “more than solidarity” and that PCUN helped organize Saturday’s rally because the NAACP has been there for PCUN in the past.
“Anytime you need anything from us, we’re there,” Ramirez told the crowd. “We may be two organizations, but we have one struggle.”
Contact the higher education reporter at jhedelman@
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