By Brandon Fey, Staff Writer
On Oct. 30, Gettysburg College hosted criminal justice reform advocate David Garlock in the Mara Auditorium of Master’s Hall from 6 to 8 p.m. This event was organized by the Public Policy Department, Psychology Department, Peace and Justice Studies and the Office of Title IX and Sexual Respect.
Both the local office of the Adam’s County Children’s Advocacy Center and the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR) had informational tables at the event. This seminar was particularly relevant as it relates to proposed legislation in Pennsylvania with Senate Bill 890, which has the potential to provide further protections to people who are abused as children.
Garlock gave a presentation titled “ACEs and The Chapters of My Life” about his personal experiences of suffering abuse, incarceration and rebuilding his life afterward.
He began by mentioning that he had served time in prison and then challenged the audience to guess his crime. Initial hesitant guesses included nonviolent white-collar crimes, and someone then guessed assault. However, Garlock revealed his true conviction: murder.
Citing himself as a caucasian male in business attire, Garlock explained the impact of stereotypes on our perceptions of justice. This was evident as the audience was visibly surprised to learn of his crime.
Garlock then shared his personal story in which he suffered from multiple Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). This included household dysfunction and neglect, as well as physical and sexual abuse. Through adolescence, he was compelled to create metaphorical masks to deal with his trauma, using different personas to cope with the shame and stigma.
At the age of 20, Garlock and his brother had suffered so greatly that together they took the life of their abuser. After several difficult months spent on the run, he confessed to his crime following seven hours of reflection in a police interrogation room. His confession immediately granted him some peace. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison, thus beginning the next significant stage of his life.
The speaker shared details about his prison experience, highlighting the extreme over-capacity of the Alabama prison system. From his experience, he argued that he has found that prisons state they are focused on rehabilitation, but instead, they enforce incapacitation, retribution, and deterrence.
“That’s the reality of our prison system,” Garlock said. “We were looked at only as numbers. We felt branded like cattle.”
Throughout the ordeal, Garlock took solace in his Christian faith, which continues to grant him a sense of hope and release from the control of his past traumas.
As a client of the non-profit legal representation organization Equal Justice Initiative, Garlock was released on parole in 2013 after having served over 13 years in prison. During that time, however, he pursued several educational and service opportunities while incarcerated.
At that point in the presentation, he spoke about inequity and prejudice that influence the justice system by displaying three cases in which minority women were convicted for the murder of their traffickers. Although each one of them was under the age of 18 (Garlock having been 20), many of them faced life sentences without parole compared to Garlock’s 25 years.
While each of them is currently receiving legal assistance, Garlock warned of the recent increase in the number of women who are being incarcerated, many of whose husbands are also incarcerated, resulting in greater trauma for their children.
Upon his release, he faced immediate difficulties finding work due to his criminal background. With more support from the Equal Justice Initiative, he was able to eventually find work and obtain a bachelor’s degree from Eastern University in 2017.
Garlock then mentioned his experience working at a prison ministry’s reentry home. This position, which he described as “a powerful experience,” involved him assisting former abusers from his perspective as a former victim. For three years, he saw the work as restorative justice, in which he helped them heal and forgive themselves.
In 2021, David Garlock was granted a rare pardon from the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles, in an experience that eerily resembled a trial. Had he not been granted parole or pardon, he still would not have been released from prison until 2024.
He emphasized the importance for former victims to undergo the proper steps toward healing to free themselves from the trauma. He used a metaphor comparing trauma to a scab that continues to cause pain when irritated. When one processes his or her trauma, allowing the scab to heal, it becomes a scar. Unlike a scab, a scar no longer causes pain, but it remains a symbol to others that healing is possible.
Garlock concluded his story with his thoughts on criminal justice reform. While he acknowledged that abusers and other criminals ought to face incarceration for their offenses, he argued against extreme sentences and criminal registries.
According to Garlock, 95% of abusers are not in the registry, and the same percentage of abusers are people who are already close to the people whom they target. He claimed that because of this, a registry does more harm than good for people who have been rehabilitated and are seeking to repair their lives.
Garlock now shares his story by speaking at colleges and prisons across the nation. He has given TEDx talks about his advocacy and has even made an appearance in the 2020 film Just Mercy, in which he relived the role of an incarcerated Alabama prisoner, sharing the true details of his story.
Garlock provided the audience with his contact information and social media accounts, encouraging students to reach out to him with further questions or access to his professional network. On this, he stated, “I want to be a resource for you all.”
