Scanning the headlines of the Oct. 2 edition of the Oregon Daily Emerald, the name Darrell Sky Walker jumped from the page; a name I’ve come to know quite well in the last year. Seeing it written in the same sentence as “‘injust’ trial” not only surprised, but saddened me because it was a trial I attended scrupulously (“‘Injust’ local case used as example at rights rally,” ODE, Oct. 2). “Unfair” would more accurately describe my sentiment for all the hours of heartbreak spent in that courtroom I’ll never get back. I cannot, for the life of me, see how that word could be used in reference to the trial’s proceedings.
In no way do I contest the existence of racial inequality and prejudice in the judicial system, nor in society, nor in Lane County. It is by no coincidence that minorities make up a large portion of those in the criminal justice system. It is also of no surprise to anyone living in Lane County that its population is disproportionately white. Living in a community in which whites are the majority, it is not surprising that a jury made of one’s peers in this community will also be mostly white. When I entered the courtroom during Walker’s trial, this aspect of the trial struck me. I feared the reaction presented in the Oct. 2 article before the trial had even begun.
After sitting in that Lane County courtroom, I can honestly state with conviction that the jury saw more than just the color of Walker’s skin. What they saw was a week’s worth of evidence proving Walker’s responsibility for Phil Gillins’ death.
Losing Phil was a tragedy. He was a young man of strong morals, ethics and loyalty. The senseless actions that lead to the loss of his life have created a deep void in the lives of countless people. To the regret of many, no amount of justice can retrieve the years we have all lost in the presence of Phil’s good humor. I will be first to agree that the senseless end of one young man’s life does not warrant the nonsensical loss of another’s. However, in the outcome of the case of Darrell Sky Walker, the word nonsensical does not apply, rather it is the strongest endeavor toward justice that can be made.
I walked into that courtroom undecided about my feelings toward the fate of Walker. I now know that the six years he will spend in prison will never testify to the gravity of his actions. Contrary to Walker’s belief, the jury and the entire courtroom did look at the evidence, the most condemning piece of which Walker supplied himself.
I believe with all my heart that Walker has many questions about the trial, though I cannot understand why he would have questions regarding, “diagrams which showed Gillins’ body to be at an angle at which only Beall could have punched him.” Like juror Timothy Sutton, I too observed that no two people drew the exact same diagrams of the placement of the men present that night. And considering no two witnesses were standing in the exact same spot, all I can attest is that people accounted to the best of their ability from their given perspective. However, the one diagram that I hold in authority above the rest is the diagram Walker himself drew. In his own diagram, that he clearly stated he was certain of its accuracy, he placed himself as the only person, of any color, standing on the side of Gillins’ body where he was struck. If Walker continues to have questions about the diagrams presented to the court, it seems he should be directing those concerns to himself and of his own actions.
I truly hope for Oregon and elsewhere that peoples’ passions are ignited to investigate cases of racial injustice in the criminal justice system. Yet it saddens and alarms me to see so many people rallying around a case as a supposed “catalyst” of racial injustice that they clearly did not attend, nor take the time to investigate. It is exactly this mob mentality and these types of assumptions, made on the basis of race, that cause racial injustice in the first place. Using Walker’s case as a “catalyst” is in no way lending justice and integrity to the serious attention that racial inequality and profiling deserves.
I cannot change the fact that Phil Gillins was a white man. I cannot change the fact that Darrell Sky Walker is a black man. All that any of us can do is educate ourselves in regards to the facts of the situation and push ourselves to look past the colors of skin.
I assure that justice, racial and otherwise, is in the interest of all those involved in the case of Phil Gillins’ death. It would be an injustice to Phil to state that racial prejudice played a part in the outcome of the trial surrounding his death. It would be an injustice for those of us who attended the trial and saw the evidence presented. The majority concluded Walker’s guilt.
I write this to stand up for a man who can no longer stand up for himself: Phil Gillins. His name and character deserve accolades from the kind of non-prejudicial ethics he presented in his life. As the community of Lane County and elsewhere approach this Oct. 23, what would’ve been Phil’s 24th birthday, I hope that everyone keeps in mind and aspires to the example of Phil Gillins’ life, and in the spirit of the justice that each of us deserve, look at the evidence presented before applying a label to any situation.
Amy Sokal
University student