Assailants, Police Charged with Fed Hate Crimes & Obstruction in Murder of Latino Youth (PA)

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from AlterNet:



Assailants, Police Officials Charged with Federal Hate Crimes and Obstruction in Murder of Latino Youth in PA

Posted by Joshua Holland, AlterNet at 4:04 PM on December 16, 2009.

Justice may yet come for Luis Ramirez.




It was always difficult to comprehend how a jury could find the young Pennsylvania men who brutally murdered Luis Ramirez -- a Mexican immigrant and father of two young children -- during the hot summer months of 2008 not guilty. The six young men surrounded Ramirez, shouted racial slurs at him and beat him to death.

If federal charges bear out, the result should come as little surprise; justice was apparently not served in the case. As attorney Patrick Young writes, many in the community would have had you believe "that the racial epithets hurled at Ramirez did not make this killing a hate crime."

They also expect you to see no unfairness in the fact that the initial investigation into the crime was carried out by the partner of a cop who was sleeping with the mother of the young man accused of killing Ramirez. Or that the first person arrested in the incident was a Latino who tried to come to Ramirez's rescue.

And they would have you believe that the young assailants were acquitted of all major charges by an all white jury in a fair trial even though the prosecution failed to call significant witnesses, including a former Philly cop who responded to Ramirez's cries outside her window.

It turns out that the fix was allegedly in among members of the local police department, who tampered with witnesses, destroyed evidence and otherwise made sure a conviction was not forthcoming in the case. Federal prosecutors say the corruption tainting the case went all the way to the top. ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/bloggers/joshua/144623/assailants%2C_police_officials_charged_with_federal_hate_crimes_and_obstruction_in_murder_of_latino_youth_in_pa/