The Patient Dreamer

RE: Darryn Carlos Gibson:
January 19, 1959 – August 4, 2009

Written on the occasion of Darryn Gibson’s release from prison on November 21, 2008.

Sometimes it takes tremendous courage
To state an unequivocal ‘yes’ or ‘no’
When a person’s freedom can be won
By simply what they say or know.

It may seem hard to remain steadfast
When the truth seems the road less traveled
Where sound decisions and good intentions
Begin to crumble and become unraveled.

To stand erect and to loudly shout ‘no!’
When ‘yes’ might lead to a grander place
Is the way that courageous men do go
To teach us the true meaning of grace.

Seekers of the truth stand firm and strong
When values are not brokered in a compromise
Or the tenuous relationship between right and wrong
Does not hasten the flight of our soul’s demise.

The forces of pure evil sometimes linger
In places where the good had always stood
While the Lady of Liberty points her fingers
At both the innocent and the guilty within our hoods.

Time and patience can be great redeemers
Of that which can be redeemed by time
But what can console the patient dreamer
When time has not redeemed the crime?

betty jean grant

GRIEF FUELS DESIRE TO WIPE OUT CONVICTION
Family, friends mourn man freed but not exonerated

By Gene Warner
NEWS STAFF REPORTER

Updated: August 12, 2009, 8:36 AM

Darryn C. Gibson died a free man, after being paroled last November following 32 years in prison for a murder he insisted he didnt commit.

But he remained imprisoned by a label he never could shake: convicted killer.

Gibson never realized his greatest dream, to be exonerated. His 1977 murder conviction fueled public protests decades later after a fellow defendants attorney claimed that Gibson and three other teens never committed the crime.

Darryn Gibson, 50, died Aug. 4, apparently of a heart attack. He went to his grave after 8 1/2 months of freedom but without clearing his name.

That left holes in the hearts of loved ones who buried him Tuesday.

Im sad, very, very sad, his mother, the Rev. Dian E. Cole, said just before the funeral. My heart is broken. I wanted him to live and see his name be cleared and enjoy the beauty of Gods world.

But in the next breath, Cole expressed joy that her son lived long enough to be paroled, allowing him to be free for those 8 1/2 months. That meant taking photos of pretty flowers, beautiful sunsets and fluffy clouds.

I am so thankful, because he didnt want to die in prison, she said in First Shiloh Baptist Church on Pine Street. I used to pray and say, God, let him be free, so he didnt have to come to my funeral in handcuffs. He enjoyed life. He loved the beauty of things that we all take for granted.

Gibson and two other teens were convicted in the fatal beating of a 62-year-old Fillmore Avenue man in January 1976.

But a fourth defendant was acquitted after his attorney, James A. W. McLeod, now a City Court judge, used the polices evidence to rebut the prosecutions version of how the four teens supposedly committed the crime.

At Gibsons funeral Tuesday, McLeod cited the cases of Anthony J. Capozzi and Lynn M. DeJac, two Buffalo residents freed from prison after being exonerated or having their criminal cases dismissed.

McLeod told the approximately 225 mourners that they need to tell those in power that they have a responsibility to make sure justice is done in Gibsons case.

We must stand with this family and say we will continue to fight for justice, so there will be a time when we can truly say that Darryn is resting in peace, McLeod said. L. Nathan Hare, executive director of the Community Action Organization of Erie County, cited the inadequacy of the criminal-justice system, which never gave the three other defendants the chance to use the evidence McLeod uncovered in freeing his client.

So Hare vowed to work with legal professionals to establish what he called the Darryn Gibson Fair Justice Commission.

Then his death is absolutely not in vain, Hare added.

Before the lengthy service, dubbed a celebration, Cole talked about her son, whom she and others referred to as the patient dreamer.

Cole told of the times Gibson, after being freed, would hop on a bus to meet her at a school where she worked as a substitute teacher, to eat lunch with her in her car.

One day, after he went to the wrong school, the principal of DYouville Porter Campus School 3 walked into Coles classroom and told the students that Gibson was a great example of someone who respected, loved and obeyed his mother.

It turns out that after Gibson had gone to the wrong school, he got some flowers, went to School 3 and left the flowers in the office for his mother.

While in prison for 32 years, Gibson earned a degree in business administration and served as a drug counselor. After being freed, he wanted to start a van service to take families to prisons or open a center where former prisoners could learn the skills to lead productive lives.

But Gibson chafed under his inability to land a job and his parole restrictions, including a 9 p. m. curfew and not being allowed to attend an out-of-state family reunion.

So Gibson spent his time doing things he loved visiting museums on their free-admission days, fishing along the Niagara River and taking photos with a donated camera.

If I ever sounded negative, he would say, Ma, its a great day, Cole said. And when I was terribly upset with his parole officer, he said, Ma, shes just doing her job.

He taught me a lot, she added.

Cole said she has no doubt that her son will be exonerated.

What would she tell him then?

Id say, Darryn, youre really free. I know youre free, because youre with the Lord, but now your name is cleared.

Gibsons death has had a profound effect on John H. Walker Jr., the fellow defendant who led the efforts to clear the three mens names.

Now I look at the mirror and think what its like to die and not have my name cleared, Walker said. Its something I understand now. Im going to double my efforts so it doesnt happen to me.

All I can do for him now, all that anyone can do, is try to clear his name. This makes it all the more important.

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