Lawyers: NYC gay hate crime suspects are innocent

[WillParkinson]

FYI: This is a long story and there's several snips to keep it down to copyright size.

Lawyers: NYC gay hate crime suspects are innocent

(New York) A suspected gang member accused of participating in what’s being called the city’s worst case of anti-gay violence in recent memory is not a monster and should be given a chance to tell his side of the story, his lawyer said Thursday.

<snip>

“Please stop running to judgment,” said Sanders Dennis, attorney for alleged ringleader Idelfonzo Mendez, as he addressed reporters outside the courtroom. “Stop making him a monster. Let the system play it out.”

Defendant Ruddy Vargas-Perez is “absolutely distraught,” said his lawyer, Benjamin Heinrich. “Ruddy is as appalled as everyone else.”

<snip>

“Ruddy is a working man” with a job in construction, Heinrich said. “He pays his taxes.”

<snip>

The 17-year-old was beaten and sodomized until he confessed to his involvement with the older man, authorities said. The mob later went after the 30-year-old, luring him to an abandoned apartment they used for partying, where they tied him to a chair and assaulted him, police said.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. There is no "innocent" in prosecution of a crime. Only guilty or not guilty.

Exoneration/Acquittal doesn't mean you've been proven "innocent", only that you weren't proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

[pgodbold]

2. “He pays his taxes.” Well golly gee! Everybody knows that paying taxes gives you every right to

beat the shit out of fags.

[beyurslf]

3. It's his attorney's job to say that. And I agree, let the system play out and let the state

prove his guilt. We remain a civilized country even if barbarians pop up now and then.