A Turning Point? - 3 Pennsylvania teens charged in immigrant’s death
Jul 25, 2008 For your information, Immigration Debate
Luis Ramirez lies in his hospital bed hours before his death at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pa.. Ramirez, 25, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, died Monday, July 14, 2008 from injuries he received in a beating in Shenandoah, Pa
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.
“Now that the criminal charges have been filed, we must let this case be handled in the criminal justice system,” he said.
Police said as many as six teens were involved in the fight, which ended with Ramirez in convulsions and foaming at the mouth. He died July 14 of head injuries.
Crystal Dillman, the victim’s 24-year-old fiancee, who is white and grew up in Shenandoah, has said Ramirez was often called derogatory names, including “dirty Mexican,” and told to return to his homeland.
“I plan on moving out of this town as fast as I can. Not because I’m scared. I just don’t want to see my children have to deal with what their father dealt with,” Dillman said.
Piekarsky and Walsh were being held without bail, while Donchak was held on $75,000 bail.
Lawyers for Piekarsky and Walsh said their clients were not guilty and that there was no evidence to support the homicide charges. They also said they would try to have the case removed to juvenile court.
It is important for the American public to understand that the current anti-immigrant sentiment spreading across the country doesn?t simply cause discomfort to those who ?look illegal,? but can have serious and tragic consequences
Luis Ramirez came to the U.S. from Mexico six years ago to look for work, landing in this town in Pennsylvania?s coal region. Here, he found steady employment, fathered two children and, his fiancee said, occasionally endured harassment by white residents.
Some local officials have attempted to explain the incident as a “street fight that went wrong,” suggesting the victim himself might have provoked the attack. But initial reports don?t support that suggestion:
One important characteristic of hate crimes is that the crime is often intended to send a message to the rest of the community. In this case, the message was that the presence of Mexicans in Shenandoah was not welcome.
Retired Philadelphia police Officer Eileen Burke, who lives on the street where the fight occurred, told The Associated Press she heard a youth scream at one of Ramirez?s friends after the beating to tell her Mexican friends to get out of Shenandoah, “or you?re going to be laying next to him.
Tragedies such as these remind us of a recent statement made by Stacy Burdett of the Anti-Defamation League:
[W]hen people all over the country are trained to think of immigrants as ?invading? our way of life, trying to rip apart our civilization, and undermine our values; when we?re trained to think of them as a little bit less than, less deserving of rights, less human, animal-like, almost . . . good people will be inculcated to hate. And the suggestion is not that implicit, that maybe communities should take matters into their own hands
Despite the witness statements, Borough Manager Joseph Palubinsky said he doesn’t believe Ramirez’s ethnicity was what prompted the fight: “I have reason to know the kids who were involved, the families who were involved, and I’ve never known them to harbor this type of feeling.”
Yeah, Right! Not racially motivated? Give me a frigging break!
Certainly the defense lawyers want this tried in juvenile court where these fucktards would be sentenced until they turn 21 and turned loose. This cannot be allowed to happen.
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Tags: Ethnicity, Hate Crimes, Pennsylvania, racism
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July 25th, 2008 at 9:29
[...] as adults. Sadly it won’t bring Luis back, but at least we’ll see some sort of justice. A Turning Point? - 3 Pennsylvania teens charged in immigrant’s death - Mexico Trucker By P.M. Corn • July 25, [...]
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July 25th, 2008 at 9:41
Thanks for the post on this story. I found a blog trying to justify the killing by claiming he’d be alive if he weren’t here and trying to prove he’s a felon. Of course, they also try to show there’s no proof the teens were responsible.
Between local intimidation and ICE raids, all of which are targeting Latinos, it’s getting quite sickening out there. As you commented over at American Humanity the leaders of the anti-migrant groups are responsible for fueling this hate.
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July 25th, 2008 at 9:53
No, thank you for the comment.
No human being should die in this manner and for this reason.
I can only imagine the loony toons are coming up with all manner of justification for this action.
Of course, there is no proof he was a felon because being in the country illegally, is not a felony. This was a young kid with a family trying to work, keep his nose clean and make a life for himself and his kids.
And you know, despite the fact that one of those arrested was I believe, the star quarteback on the high school football team, they are still denying any football players were responsible
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July 26th, 2008 at 5:43
Good first step. We can hope that justice will be done — carefully & without hysteria on either side.
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July 26th, 2008 at 7:58
[...] Update on the Luis Ramirez Story: Three teens charged in beating death of Luis Ramirez at Latino Politics Blog. You can also read more at Mexico Trucker in A Turning Point? - 3 Pennsylvania teens charged in immigrant’s death. [...]
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July 26th, 2008 at 12:33
WHAT THESE MURDERERS COMMITTED WAS NOT ONLY MURDER, BUT A SERIOUS HATE CRIME. THEY MADE THE MISTAKE OF THEIR LIVES FUELED BY HATE AND INTOLERANCE AND WHAT THEY DID IS NO DIFFERENT THAN WHAT THOSE MONSTERS DID TO MATTHEW SHEPARD BACK IN 1998 BECAUSE HE WAS GAY.
THESE RACIST MURDERERS SHOULD BE PUNISHED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW. I CALL FOR EXECUTION SO THAT THEIR PARENTS WHO TAUGHT THEM HOW TO HATE CAN WATCH AND UNDERSTAND HOW THEY DESTROYED THEIR CHILDREN.
IF ANYTHING LESS THAN CAPITAL PUNISHMENT OR SERIOUS TO LIFE PRISON TIME IS GIVEN, AMERICA WILL KNOW RAGE AND ONCE AGAIN SEE IT ON IT’S STREETS.
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July 26th, 2008 at 12:59
Capital punishment is probably off the table and I have mixed feelings about that issue.
But take heart knowing these assklowns will do hard time and they won’t be as bad as they think they are in prison.
Consider the fact that these young fools will be the personal bitches of some lifer, probably a hispanic or African American. How is that for justice!
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August 5th, 2008 at 4:10
I just hope they don’t drop or water down the charges on these teens only for being white. The punishment should fit the crime. Although I am hopeful this will happen, as we all have seen if the alleged murderers would have been Black/Latino and killed a white man, the arrest would of been made immediately and not 11 days later.
Remember the case of the black youth who beat up a white boy. Well they were charged with attempted murder and were in jail. Nobody got seriously injured in that situation.
Well a person lost their life in this case and I hope that justice is served.
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September 1st, 2008 at 12:26
There were 7 and only 3 are getting charged. Those black boys who beat up that white kid were all charged and they were lucky he did not die.Well thats our justice system for u.Whites have a right to kill u if ur different.And if ur a minority and u kill someone u will most likely get the harshest punishment by law.
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September 1st, 2008 at 12:37
You just said it all the Slappy!
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