#indiaclark

𝐀 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞

While this article is predominately about India Clarke, we thought it would be best to also capture her alleged killer’s other victim, Tyrone Davis. Tyrone was killed 5 days after India, and in similar circumstances.

We also want to make clear that while available evidence is compelling as to who committed these murders, it is important to remember that a trial has not happened yet and Keith Gaillard has not been found guilty.

𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞

This is India Clarke, a 25-year-old trans woman from Tampa, Florida. She was beloved by her friends and family and had a spirit that dazzled everyone around her.

“I just wish my baby was here with me…Every day, a part of me is gone. I am not the same. I know life still goes on, and I'm trying to make the best of it, but I miss my baby. I know my kids love me, but India showed the most love. Not only to me, to everybody ... she was always telling me, 'Momma, I love you.'"[i]--India’s mother

In the same article quoted above, journalist John D. Sutter, wrote: “Nearly one year after India's death, friends and family still ache from her absence, their eyes welling with memories of a person who was both life of the party and a confidante, both sassy queen and a doting aunt.”

“[Gaillard] really took someone special from us, you know? People can say, 'I love you,' but showing someone you love them is different. [India] always did that."" [ii]-- India's cousin, Lakischa Hicks.

“[She was] friendly and confident, someone who loved making others happy, rapping, taking selfies, cracking jokes and performing in drag shows. One of her favorite songs was And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going from the movie Dreamgirls. "[iii] -- Family and friends interviewed by the Tampa Bay Times.

India did not always have the closest relationship with her parents, especially after coming out as herself. However, it sounds, from both her friends and her family, that India and her mom found a way to be close again before her death. While India’s parents continued to describe her with the wrong pronouns, they went out of their way to find a church that would bury India in a dress and as a woman.

𝐓𝐲𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐬

Tyrone Davis was a 46-year-old from San Antonio, Florida. It sounds like he had a close relationship with his family and was active in his church community. His obituary made clear that Tyrone had a lifelong love affair with music and singing. Several news articles state that Tyrone’s family believed him to be gay. Beyond that, not much is known online about Tyrone. We do not know how he came into contact with Gaillard, but we suspect once that trial begins we will learn more about Tyrone.

𝐀 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 – 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐲𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐬

7/21/15 – India’s body was found by a maintenance worker. Her car was found with the following items:

- Used condom – DNA from the condom matched DNA found under India’s fingernails. Police have confirmed that the DNA in the condom and under her nails matches Gaillard. - Paperwork - A used cigar with Gaillard’s fingerprint 7/22/15

Gaillard told a “witness” that he thought he “killed somebody” and suggested the body was near “Fletcher Avenue” (a couple streets away from where India was found).

Detectives found on Gaillard’s Facebook page a picture of Gaillard with a gun that could match India’s gunshot wound. From reading court documents, it appears unclear if this will be included as evidence in the trial.

7/26/15

-Gaillard called Tyrone on his cellphone and the two met in Temple Crest Park, 5 miles away from where India was found.

-Tyrone Davis’s body was found later on the 26th. The cause of Death was a gunshot wound to the back of the head. Tyrone’s car was found 2.6 miles (an 8 minute drive) away from his body.

-Inside the car they found: Blood, Gaillard’s driver’s license, and discarded shorts that had both Gaillard and Tyrone’s blood.

-Gaillard sold the gun suspected to be India’s murder weapon to a friend for $50.00

7/2?/15 – a witness says that between 7/26 (when Tyrone’s body was discovered) and 7/29, Gaillard was driving around in Tyrone’s car. The witness says that they drove the car to get gas and it broke down. They then pushed it to a parking lot where police found it. This is corroborated by security footage at the gas station that shows Gaillard driving Tyrone’s car.

7/28/15 - Gaillard sold the gun suspected to be India’s murder weapon to a friend for $50.00. Police also discover that Tyrone was killed with at .22 caliber gun, consistent with the gun that killed India.

7/29/15 – Gaillard turned himself in with the help of his brother.

After Gaillard was arrested, the courts had to decide whether to try Tyrone and India’s murders as separate cases. In October 2019 it was finally decided the two cases would be separate. A trial was supposed to begin in November 2019 (for which murder we are unclear). However, in November a motion was filed for a new trial and it appears that, according to documents filed in February 2020, that some kind of hearing has been scheduled for April 28th, 2020. Hopefully this will be for one of the two trials.

𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬

-Authorities mentioned that Gaillard had a scratch consistent with India scratching him. Where did the blood on the shorts come from? The scratch or a different wound?

-Did the witness who went on the joy ride with Gaillard notice the blood? They discarded the car after driving it around after the murder.

-Not really a good question, but WHY did Gaillard leave his driver’s license? There has to be something going on cognitively or mental health-wise. That is a huge oversight on Gaillard’s part.

-Gaillard’s brother doesn’t think that he killed India. But why would Gaillard say he killed someone near Fletcher avenue if it wasn’t India? Tyrone’s body was (according to Google Maps) about 12 minutes driving distance from Fletcher Avenue.

𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐚

At the time of her death, India was the 10th trans person of color to be murdered in the United States.

The Associated Press, as well as several other new sites, referred to India Clarke as a “man in a dress.”

Articles from 2015 keep referring to language used in the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office media release, but unfortunately the Sheriff’s Office only retains media releases as far back as the previous calendar year (in this case 2019). We will have to rely on articles from 2015 to tell us what was in that document. And, while we may not have the original, statements made by Public Information Officers illuminate the Sheriff’s Office’s stance on India’s gender.

A Public Information Officer, Larry McKinnon, said to journalist Dominic Holden:

“We are not going to categorize him as a transgender. We can just tell you he had women’s clothing on at the time…What his lifestyle was prior to that we don’t know — whether he was a cross dresser, we don’t know…. He is a male…I can’t tell you he is a female.”[iv] Holden goes on to point out that 911 calls about India’s body referred to her as a woman, and India had clearly been living as herself for the past 5 years. In fact, it sounds like it wasn’t until the Medical Examiner’s report came back with all biological information, that the Sheriff’s Office referred to India as he/him and used her dead name.

You don’t need us to tell you how horrifying those statements are. Beyond the callous disregard for India’s identity, you may be wondering why this matters on a larger level.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has been tracking data on murdered trans people since 2013, and they say a challenge to collecting this data is how these crimes are reported on. The language we use around these murders muddy the water and obfuscate the number of trans people being murdered. Had no one made a fuss about how India’s murder was being reported, people trying to track this data may not have caught that she was trans, and her death wouldn’t have been counted. How can we as a society begin to address an issue when we don’t have a clear picture of what is occurring? How can we protect and lift up those who the media deem unfit to be reported on? We all deserve care, attention, and help. We all deserve justice.

Since 2013, 157 trans and gender-nonconforming individuals have been murdered. In 2019, 22 trans people were murdered. 91% were black women. 81% were under the age of 30.

The HRC has found in tracking data since 2013 that 90% of trans people murdered in the US were women. Additionally, 89% of those murdered since 2013 were people of color. Since 2013, 58% of all trans people murdered in the US were murdered in Southern states, with the Midwest showing 22%. Florida and Texas have proven to be the two deadliest states.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐑𝐂 𝐒𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 – 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐇𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐰𝐬[𝐯]

The HRC suggests that states adopt gender identity-based hate crime laws. There is a federal law against gender-identity hate crimes, but unless there is a reason for federal authorities to get involved in a murder, states retain jurisdiction.

States that DO have hate crime laws that cover gender identity: Connecticut, Delaware, DC, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, Vermont, and Washington.

If you don’t see your state listed here, find out what is happening in your state! Are there bills in progress? If so, reach out to the organizations working on them to see what they need and how you can get involved. See where your local LGBTQIAA+ resource center is – we feel confident they will be able to give you an idea of what is happening on the legislative level in your state.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐑𝐂 𝐒𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 – 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐢-𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐚𝐰𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐱 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤

India, by all accounts, wanted to be self-sufficient. She wanted to work and find stable housing and move out of her parent’s home. However, when India would obtain a job, she wasn’t allowed to wear women’s clothes. She was told to dress like a man. Naturally, she left those jobs. She still had to eat, though. She still needed to pay for and find housing, and sometimes slept in her car. She did what many people turn to: sex work.

𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞’𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐱 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐙𝐄 𝐈𝐓. 𝐖𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐞𝐱 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 “𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐝” 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤.

While there is often too much focus on victims’ lives before their murder (often invoked to suggest they brought violence upon themselves), in India’s case it does make sense to bring up her sex work as that may be how she knew Gaillard. And it’s important to talk about sex work here because she turned to sex work in large part due to how she was discriminated against at work and at home. Some of India’s friends said she couldn’t live at home with her parents unless she also wore men’s clothes there. It seems the only thing India could really do while remaining true to herself was sex work.

According to the HRC: “With limited access to workplaces, housing, and public accommodations that are guaranteed to be affirming and inclusive, transgender and gender non-conforming people are put at greater risk for poverty, homelessness and involvement with criminalized work. Together, these factors put transgender and gender non-conforming people at an increased risk of violence and danger.”

“More than half of the victims of anti-transgender violence since 2013 were killed somewhere without adequate non-discrimination protections for gender identity. 30% of the victims died in areas with no explicit non-discrimination protections for gender identity at any jurisdictional level, while 25% of the victims died in areas that had explicit protections for gender identity that were not comprehensive.”

Anti-discrimination laws and decriminalizing sex work go hand in hand. If trans and non-gender conforming people are allowed to be themselves at work and are protected from being fired for being themselves, they have a greater likelihood of being able to work and afford housing. Housing can add a layer of protection and reduce decisions borne from desperation. It seems obvious that a house/apartment/rented room offers greater protection than a car. This way, sex workers who would like to leave that work can without fear of losing income.

Sex work is not inherently dangerous work. What makes sex work dangerous is how it is criminalized. In a better world, sex workers would have access to OSHA protections, have unions, be able to report assaults without being penalized by the criminal justice system, and advocate for living wages. They would be able to ensure sanitation and health standards of clients and have true protection when a client tries to harm them. They would have designated workspaces where they can do their work in safety. Right now, outside of Nevada, none of that is possible due to sex work criminalization, and it forces one of the world’s oldest professions into the shadows. And to be clear, not everyone who does sex work does so because they have no other options. There are tons of people out there that choose to do sex work and enjoy it. They still deserve protection. If we want to stop these murders (we do) then we need to start listening to the data and start protecting sex workers.

If you are struggling with the concept of decriminalizing sex work, go back to the beginning of this article and read again about who India was. Read all those kind words people had to say about her. She was a complex person in a complex society, trying to survive. Our society’s laws surrounding hate crimes, discrimination, sex work, and an overall discomfort with anything queer, led to a situation where India was put at a greater risk of harm. We know what we need to do to start protecting people who need it, and we need to start doing it.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐟’𝐬 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲

We couldn’t determine whether Larry McKinnon is still employed as a public relations officer at the Sheriff’s Office. However, while poking around their website, we did discover that they now have a “LGBTQ Liaison” division. Their mission is: “To continuously strive to promote awareness of LGBTQ issues while working to evoke change in the perceptions and treatment of LGBTQ persons and to defend the community while preserving the rights and dignity of all.”[vi]

There are currently two liaison officers whose main duties are to:

-Serve as a personal point of contact between the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and the LGBTQ Community.

-Coordinate with and provide a forum for local law enforcement agencies, schools, business owners, community groups and individuals of the LGBTQ community regarding relevant law enforcement issues.

-Attend LGBTQ functions and community events as a representative of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

-Serve as a resource to families with questions or guidance towards LGBTQ support services for the LGBTQ community and Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office employees.

We emailed their department to see when their division was created, but at this time they have not responded. We are curious whether 2015 and attention on India Clarke’s case put pressure on Sheriff’s Office to get better with LGBTQIAA+ matters.

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬

We want to stress that the only person responsible for India and Tyrone’s murders is the killer. It would be foolish to think these murders happened in a sterile vacuum, though. Our society does play a role in who is safe and who has access to basic needs. If we protect the most vulnerable in our society, they will stop being such easy targets for predators. When we think about criminal justice and the role it plays in our society, we should also think about harm reduction and prevention. America has a long, deep, painful history of slavery, genocide, and intolerance which has created a situation where a great deal of people are unnecessarily put in harm’s way. Until we address that history we cannot move forward to address and root out systemic racism and queer-phobia in our government institutions.

𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫?

Here are some great sources that we have come across:

The Trans Obituaries Project: Honoring the Trans Women of Color Lost in 2019 (USA - obituaries written by Raquel Willis, illustrations done by Jacob Stead): https://www.out.com/…/trans-obituaries-project-honoring-tra…

The Human Rights Campaign: https://www.hrc.org/blog/topic/transgender

GLAAD put out a great article on how to write about trans folks who have been victims of crime: https://www.glaad.org/publications/transgendervictimsofcrime

𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬

I normally wouldn’t post anything like this on my blog but there is a time and place for it. And I think now is the time not only to explain my absence but to break my silence. 

As some of you know, I live in Ohio. I go to college here and my school is just 20 minutes away from the town of Beavercreek where John Crawford III was killed by the police in the Walmart many of my friends buy school supplies in. In two weeks, it will be the year anniversary of his death and I’m on a committee to help plan a vigil. 

Some of you also know that I was raised in Louisiana. And earlier this week a man opened fire in a theater where some of my friends work. The media is spinning it like a “lone wolf” story when he is a literal nazi. 

With stories like these, Sandra Bland, and India Clarke I can’t ignore this right now. It would be irresponsible. I am tired. I want to mourn and take action.