Another Hate Crime - This time in Pennsylvania

[Catherine Vincent]

3 Teens Charged In Immigrant Beating Death
Luis Ramirez Died July 14

POSTED: 11:40 am CDT July 25, 2008
UPDATED: 12:05 pm CDT July 25, 2008


PORT CARBON, Pa. -- Three white teens were charged Friday in what officials
said was an epithet-filled fatal beating of an illegal Mexican immigrant in
a small northeast Pennsylvania coal town.

Brandon J. Piekarsky, 16, and Colin J. Walsh, 17, were charged as adults with
homicide and ethnic intimidation in the July 12 attack on Luis Ramirez. A third
teen, Derrick M. Donchak, 18, was charged with aggravated assault, ethnic
intimidation and other offenses. All are from Shenandoah, where the
attack occurred.

Ramirez, 25, was beaten to death after an argument with a group of youths that
police said included high school football players. Authorities could not immediately
say if any of the suspects were members of the team, but they confirmed that all
three used ethnic slurs during the fight.

"As a result of this crime, a young man has lost his life. Many other lives have
been devastated, and the borough of Shenandoah has been filled with tensions between
many ethnic groups," Schuylkill County District Attorney James Goodman said.

more.....http://www.click2houston.com/news/16989074/detail.html

[sui generis]

1. the parents should get a go-to-jail free card too.

I'm starting to think I LIKE Draconian justice.

It would certainly make better parents out of everyone.

[EFerrari]

2. The young man who died had two small children. n/t

[exothermic]

3. There was a time when a Piekarsky might have been assaulted just for his name.

:grr:

[RaleighNCDUer]

4. Yep - back when they started bringing in all those damn polacks and slovaks,

taking jobs away from good, hardworking Irishmen.

(in response to the good hardworking irish and welsh miners striking against the company working conditions)

[sui generis]

8. well you know what they say . . .

once you've had slovak, you don't go back. Som'n like that.

[siligut]

5. "Lawyers for Piekarsky and Walsh said their clients were not guilty and that there was no evidence

to support the homicide charges," except a dead man and eye witnesses, yup no evidence at all.

[sui generis]

9. but they're being tried as adults.

I think the system is totally screwed up in that regard.

As an adult, if I can't moon a republican senator and get tried as an adolescent. . . . why should they get tried as adults?

The idea that a particular crime is "adult" or "juvenile" is ludicrous.

Oh yeah, and they're guilty as all fuckout but so are their parents.

[siligut]

10. I agree, the same rules ought to apply to everyone.

However, we know they don’t. Because of the hate aspect of this crime, and the heinous way this young man was murdered, it seems possible that the DA took that into consideration. Also, that the one member of the killing group who was 18 was given a lesser charge, seems manipulative.

Perhaps, because they are 16 and 17, the nature of the crime had an influence on how the charges were filed. I agree that their parents are probably guilty of hate as well, but that is not how the system works, it would be much more complicated than it is now.

I don’t have enough knowledge to evaluate the criminal justice system versus the juvenile. I do know that the juvenile court hopes toward rehabilitation and also that in the criminal system, young males have it very hard. My feelings are mixed in this case, very very mixed.

[a la izquierda]

6. Good. If and when they're found guilty

I hope they're locked up and the keys tossed. And hopefully for their sakes no one in prison figures out who they are. There are a lot of Latinos in prison these days. I can't imagine that this crime would go over real well.

Just disgusting.

[sui generis]

7. I do have one HUGE issue though with the court

Either we get rid of juvie or we make a hard and fast rule that AGE is the ONLY criteria for it.

As much as I think those three should be locked away in a deep pit forever, they ARE children. If you try children as adults because they committed "adult" crimes you make the process and definition of criminal law and parental responsibility meaningless.

Particulars of this case aside, parents should be entirely legally and financially responsible for the actions of their children.

If I had a pit bull that ate an illegal immigrant, they wouldn't be trying my pit bull as an adult. Far better to make sure my pit bull doesn't have an irrational hankering for illegal immigrants, for lunch.

As it happens I do have a pit bull, but he is the biggest goofball clown and lurvs everybody. Lousy lousy guard dog but that's not why I have the pooch. :P

[treestar]

11. If he hadn't been here when he was not supposed to be, he

wouldn't have gotten killed. :sarcasm: