Several dozen people gathered Friday afternoon at the Penticton library to march in protest of a recent Parole Board of Canada decision to grant day parole for a convicted murderer.
In early 2015, 67-year-old Pentictonite Grace Robotti murdered the mother of her great-grandson, 26-year-old Roxanne Louie of the Osoyoos Indian Band, following a heated, physical exchange between the two at Robotti's home.
After the fatal altercation, in which Robotti was determined to have delivered 26-plus crowbar blows to Louie's head, her brother Pier Robotti transported Louie's body to a forested spot near Naramata and dumped it while sister Grace attempted to cover up the crime scene.
Two years later, in April of 2017, a Kelowna judge found Robotti guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced her to life in prison with no chance of parole for ten years.
But less than seven years later, on Dec. 23, 2023, Robotti was granted day parole.
The decision prompted Friday's Walk, which began at the library and ended 1.5 kilometers away on the steps of the Penticton Court House, across the street from Gyro Park, where participants such as Louie family spokespeople Laurie and Dan Wilson, Penticton Indian Band Chief Greg Gabriel, Osoyoos Indian Band Chief Clarence Louie and Vancouver-Mount Pleasant MLA Joan Philip addressed the crowd.
Throughout the event, there were words of shock, words of sadness, words of outrage and words of consolation and hope.
PentictonNow chatted with a variety of people at the library as the event got underway, and found overwhelming frustration and almost universal accusations of racism.
People like lead organizer Marty Marchand, a good friend of Louie's and someone who's spoken out about the incident since it was first reported in 2015.
"I drove Roxanne on Dec. 25th, 2014 from Surrey to the Okanagan," said Marchand. "And then I learned she'd been killed. I felt like I'd delivered her to her murderers."
Marchand said she organized the Walk only after hearing of Robotti's day parole on Dec. 29.
"I saw it on the local news," she said. "You know, she was sentenced to life with a ten-year parole ineligibility and here we are six years and nine months later and the woman is getting parole already.
"She's never served any maximum security. She's been out on several occasions to renew her license, to volunteer. It's not right."
We asked Marchand if she felt race played a role in the situation, and she was blunt.
"If I was to commit that crime, as a First Nations woman, do you think I’d be given the privileges this woman is getting?" she asked. "Guaranteed I'd be serving the full maximum of ten years, if not more. And I'd probably be in a federal prison as well."
We then asked Marchand what she hoped the Walk would do.
"I want the Parole Board of Canada to start having empathy on First Nations peoples," she replied, "and stop giving her privileges. Roxanne is no longer here, but we have many voices who are still speaking for her."
According to Marchand, a petition to demand changes will be circulated amongst interested parties and ultimately presented to the Parole Board of Canada.
We next spoke to PIB Chief Greg Gabriel, asking the same questions.
"The murder was an unforgettable event," he said. "And my frustration with this is that the punishment doesn’t really fit the crime. There's such a disconnect in our justice system. When they say it's a life sentence, it's not."
PentictonNow: Do you feel racism played a part in the situation?
Gabriel: "To some extent, I would say there is an issue there. We're all wearing these orange badges, and they represent all the murdered and missing Indigenous women and children. And that's still ongoing."
PentictonNow: What do you hope the Walk will do?
Gabriel: "I hope it brings awareness. The more commentary we get out there, the more it'll help with the grief that continues in our communities."
Next was PIB member Nena Hall, a close cousin of Louie's who identifies in Syilx culture as her sister. Hall has marched and carried placards for Louie several times in the past.
"Today is something we've been dreading," she said. "When it comes up, all the feelings resurface."
Hall, like many in Friday's group, said family and friends knew nothing about the day parole decision until they'd read about it on social media.
"I just feel like nine years later and we're still fighting for her," she said. "I had to fill out victim impact statements when we went to court, and back then this was our worst fear.
"They re-assured us she's in there for second-degree murder, for ten years at least. Now nobody contacted any of us and we had to find out from social media."
PentictonNow: Do you feel racism played a part in the situation?
Hall: "Absolutely. If the tables were turned and it was me against a Caucasian girl with a three year old son, I'd be put in jail indefinitely and there's no way I'd be granted parole."
PentictonNow: What do you hope the Walk will do?
"I want it to raise awareness so the parole board can see this is not something we’ve forgotten. To let her get out and renew her license and volunteer at a thrift store (at earlier dates) and then this is just wrong."
Clarence Louie, chief of the Osoyoos Indian Band, was succinct.
"It's not justice when they murdered one of our mothers and in a short time they're out," he said.
PentictonNow: Do you feel racism played a part in the situation?
Louie: "Of course it’s a race thing. There's racism in Canada. There's racism in the justice system, there's racism in the court system. And if this was a native person, they wouldn’t be out.
"We just hope it improves. The Canadian public over the past couple decades are starting to realize things have to change. Those old Colonial names have to come down. Even the heroes of the past, like the founding father of this country – have to come down."
PentictonNow: What do you hope the Walk will do?
Louie: "I hope it can help change racist undertones. Right now I'm listening to the Obama book and it's kind of weird listening to one of the great leaders of our times talking about the racism he went through, even as president.
"But in my experience, things do change for the better every decade. And things have improved. They have. But we still have a ways to go."
Louie family spokesperson Dan Wilson said he was "very disappointed" in the decision.
"I can’t believe the Parole Board would hurt so many people by granting this parole," he said.
"We are a peaceful people. The Syilx law is to do no harm and only take what you need. We welcomed the newcomers with open arms. With the fur trade and all of that. And this is how we're constantly repaid…every day."
PentictonNow: Do you feel racism played a part in the situation?
"Yes, it did. It's an institutional race thing. We experience that every day."
PentictonNow: What do you hope the Walk will do?
Wilson: "I hope it raises awareness. So we start looking at the people who are on the parole board. The same with the justice system and the social system, they're all working hand in hand against us since day one."
Almost 90 minutes later at the court house, there was drumming and singing as the speakers wound down. And a lot of smiles too when organizers and those closest to Louie joined together, thanked the folks who came out, wrapped a blanket around organizer Marchand, and spoke of better days ahead.
