Sirdeaner Walker says she is disappointed there was no investigation into her son's death, as she's seen in the Prince case. However, she doesn't think Carl would have wanted to see other students have to go through the legal system. But that doesn't mean her efforts to keep Carl's death on the forefront have slowed down.
Sirdeaner Walker, Carl Walker's Mother, says: "I immediately contacted the school to try to address this issues."
A mother's instinct kicked in, and Sirdeaner Walker did what she thought was best to protect her son, going to officials at Springfield's New Leadership Charter School. Just as prosecutor's say 15-year-old Phoebe Prince's mother did in South Hadley. But in both cases, the mother's intervention wasn't enough.
Sirdeaner Walker, Carl Walker's Mother, says: "He had taken an extension cord and he had wrapped it somehow around the railing on the third floor."
On April 6th, 2009, Walker found Carl hanging in his bedroom. Just 10 days shy of his 12th birthday.
Sirdeaner Walker, Carl Walker's Mother, says: "All I could think of was trying to support his legs and to hold him up."
Carl's case put bullying in the spotlight, and Walker did her part to tell her son's story, appearing on Oprah and testifying before congress.
Carl and Phoebe's cases have spurred schools to spring into action when it comes to bullying, and work to stop it early on.
At one school near Boston, they're trying an unusual approach.
Joey Calabresi, Fifth Grader, Harvard Elementary, says: "What they used to tell us was as soon as you get bullied go right to the teacher to tell. That just doesn't work."
Instead, they're being taught skills to diffuse the bullying themselves. Teachers tell them to deal with the situation calmly, treat the bully as a friend, and not think of themselves as victims.
Walker wants to make sure schools are required to address the issue of bullying in schools, and she's been instrumental in pushing Massachusetts lawmakers to pass the state's first anti-bully law.
Sirdeaner Walker, Carl Walker's Mother, says: "I want Carl's legacy to be not that he was 11 years old and he committed suicide, I want Carl's legacy to be we've enacted laws to protect and help all of our children."
The Governor is set to sign that bill into action later this month. Walker says she's planning to be at his desk when he signs the legislation.