On July 14, 2008, Ramirez lost his life after he was knocked unconscious and severely beaten by a group of Shenandoah teenagers who yelled racial epithets throughout the fatal beating. Charging documents and eyewitness accounts indicate that Ramirez was punched and kicked in the body and head causing him to foam at the mouth, to sustain two skull fractures, and ultimately, to die. Ramirez leaves behind his fiancée and their two young children.
While local officials initially failed to bring charges against the perpetrators and denied that race played a role in the attack, MALDEF intervened to pressure the local prosecutor to charge the defendants with a hate crime. Soon thereafter, the county district attorney filed murder and ethnic intimidation charges against the assailants.
A retired Philadelphia police officer testified at a preliminary hearing that she heard one of the attackers yell “Tell your [expletive] Mexican friends to get the [expletive] out of Shenandoah or you’ll be [expletive] laying next to him.” The attacker's comments were directed at Ramirez’s friends who came to his aid after receiving a distress call from him on a cell phone during the beating.
On Friday, May 1, 2009, a jury in Schuylkill County found two of the defendants accused of beating the 25-year-old, father of two, guilty of simple assault. Despite the mounting evidence of a hate-driven and violent attack, the jury acquitted the defendants of third-degree murder and ethnic intimidation. The jury's conclusion is an outrage. Most shocking is the recent news article describing the Jury Foreman's view that some of the jurors were racist and racism tainted the jury's deliberations, which indicates that the trial was biased. Luis Ramirez was brutally murdered and, even in death, Ramirez remains a victim of extreme racism which denies his family the justice they deserve.
The death of Luis Ramirez has repercussions beyond his family and community. The FBI Hate Crimes Statistics Report documents that hate crimes against Latinos have increased by 40% over the past several years. We must work aggressively to prevent hate crimes, and when they occur, prosecute and punish the perpetrators to the full extent of the law.
MALDEF will continue to work with the Ramirez family and the U.S. Department of Justice to ensure that the actions of the defendants and the death of Luis Ramirez is fully investigated as a hate crime.
Justice Not Served: Pennsylvania Hate Crime Assailants Found Not Guilty
May 01, 2009
POTTSVILLE, PA — A jury in Schuylkill County found the two defendants, Brandon Piekarsky and Derrick Donchak, accused of beating 25-year-old Luis Ramirez to death, not guilty.
“Tonight there is no justice in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. The jury's conclusion is an outrage. Luis Ramirez was brutally murdered. Witnesses testified that it was racially motivated as a result of hate and intolerance. In the week when Congress passed the Hate Crimes Act, this verdict underscores the importance of the passage of this Act. It is time for the Department of Justice to step in and bring justice to the Ramirez family and send a strong message that violence targeting immigrants will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” stated Henry Solano, MALDEF interim president and general counsel.
In July 2008, Ramirez lost his life after he was knocked unconscious and kicked in the head by a group of Shenandoah teenagers who yelled racial epithets before and during the brutal beating. Witnesses overheard anti-Mexican and ethnic epithets shouted by his assailants during the violent attack. A retired Philadelphia police officer testified during the preliminary hearing that she heard one of the attackers yell, “Tell your [expletive] Mexican friends to get the [expletive] out of Shenandoah or you’ll be [expletive] laying next to him.” Ramirez leaves behind his fiancée and their two young children.
Brandon Piekarsky was charged with third-degree murder and Derrick Donchak was charged with aggravated assault. Both were charged with ethnic intimidation.
Earlier this week, the U.S. House of Representatives took a historic step forward and passed H.R. 1913, “Local Law Enforcement Hate Crime Prevention Act” by a vote of 249 to 175. The bill strengthens existing federal hate crime laws by authorizing the Department of Justice to assist local authorities in investigating and prosecuting certain bias-motivated crimes. MALDEF urges the Senate to act quickly and pass the bill.
MALDEF will continue to work with the Ramirez family and the U.S. Department of Justice to ensure that the actions of the defendants and the death of Luis Ramirez is fully investigate as a hate crime.
“Luis’s death reflects a steady increase of hate crimes targeting Latinos. Since 2002, the FBI has documented a 40 percent increase in hate crimes committed against Latinos,” said Gladys Limón, MALDEF staff attorney. “This drastic rise of hate crimes against Latinos must be addressed by the new Administration and Congress.”
Civil Rights Groups Condemn Recent Rash of Hate Crimes
Fatal Beating of Long Island Latino Man Should be a “Wake Up Call for America”
November 24, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC — The brutal murder of Marcelo Lucero, a Suffolk County, Long Island man of Ecuadoran descent, brought seven national civil rights organizations together today to denounce the recent wave of brutal hate crimes against communities of color.
Representatives from the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the Asian American Justice Center (AAJC), the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the National Urban League, the NAACP and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) decried the recent spike in hate crimes both during and after the election.
“In the wake of an election that sends a message to the world about freedom, it seems incongruous to raise the specter of hate in America,” said Janet Murguía, President and CEO of NCLR. “Hate did not win the election, but it has certainly reared its head in local communities across the country.”
“It is deeply disturbing to see this surge in hate crimes at a time when we should be celebrating coming together as a country and looking to the future,” said Karen Narasaki, President and Executive Director of AAJC. “Encouraged as we are to see many communities hopeful that we are headed towards an age of greater understanding, we cannot ignore the wave of hate crimes that has occurred in the wake of this historic election.”
The group cited FBI statistics that show hate crimes against Latinos and Asian Americans rising steadily over the past four years and a Southern Poverty Law Center report that details hundreds of incidents of hate crimes, vandalism, and threats committed since Election Day. This includes the election-night assault of Alie Kamara on Staten Island by two teenagers who shouted racial epithets and “Obama!” as they beat him.
“We believe that the Justice Department has to become more aggressive in prosecuting hate crimes,” said Marc H. Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League, one of the nation's historic civil rights organizations. “As a country, we’ve come a long way, but there is still more change needed.”
“At a time when we as a nation are celebrating our demonstrated diversity as millions of Americans of every race, color, ethnicity, economic status, religion, gender, and place of national origin went to the polls in record numbers to vote for and elect Barack Obama president of the United States, there are unfortunately those who are still living in the past filled hatred, fear and division,” said Hilary Shelton, Director NAACP Washington Bureau.
“Hate crimes such as these must be investigated and prosecuted fully at the local and federal levels,” stated John Trasviña, MALDEF President and General Counsel.
The civil rights groups faulted a “climate of hate” surrounding the immigration debate of recent years and the national election which has been fostered over the airwaves and echoed in political discourse.
“For two years we have urged politicians and members of the media to show some restraint in perpetuating the damaging rhetoric that demonizes our communities,” said Murguía. “Suffolk County mirrors the experience of many communities where hate, fostered on a national scale, has found a new home.”
“Certainly, President-elect Obama’s election speaks volumes about how far we’ve come as a nation; but, make no mistake, it signifies hope, not a final victory over prejudice and racial hostility, ” said Wade Henderson, President of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. “Certainly, in a nation of over 300 million people, there will always be a fearful few who can only find self-worth when they disparage and denigrate some group of people they see as different from themselves. We can’t legislate the heart and mind, but we can ensure that this segment is prevented from turning thought into action.”
“Words have consequences, and hateful words have hateful consequences. Mr. Lucero's death is a direct consequence of the anger and hate spurred on by media outlets that mischaracterize all Latinos and the institutions that serve them as a threat to our country,” said Murguía.
“There is a direct connection between the tenor of the political debate and the daily lives of immigrants in our communities. It is no accident that, as the immigration debate has demonized immigrants as “invaders” who poison our communities with disease and criminality, haters have taken matters into their own hands and hate crimes against Latinos are on the rise for the fourth consecutive,” said Michael Lieberman, Washington Counsel, Anti-Defamation League.
These seven organizations are committed to working together to monitor incidents of hate crimes and hate rhetoric, to urge Congress to pass the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crime Prevention Act and the media to cease resorting to bias and bigotry, and to increase tolerance and understanding among all communities.
To learn more about the code words of hate and what your community can do to combat hate speech, visit www.WeCanStopTheHate.org.
Hate Crimes Against Latinos At New Record Levels
FBI data document continued disturbing and violent trend
October 28, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC — The annual Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Hate Crimes Statistics Report released yesterday documents the continued rise of crimes that police report are motivated by bias against Hispanics. In 2007, local police reported to the FBI that there were 830 victims of anti-Hispanic crimes in 595 incidents around the nation. Both of these numbers represent increases over the previous year and surpass previous highs dating back to when annual reports were first mandated by the Hate Crimes Statistics Act.
According to the report, in 2007, Hispanics comprised 61.7 percent of victims of crimes motivated by a bias toward the victims’ ethnicity or national origin. In 2004, the comparable figure was 51.5 percent. Since 2003, the number of both victims of anti-Hispanic crimes and incidents increased by nearly 40 percent.
Earlier this year, Luis Ramirez, a Mexican immigrant who was engaged to be married to the U.S. citizen mother of his two small children, was beaten to death by a group of white teenagers in Shenandoah, PA. According to witnesses and local reports, he was accosted on the evening of July 12 and suffered fatal blows to the head and other parts of the body while the perpetrators shouted racial and ethnic epithets. MALDEF successfully requested the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the killing as a hate crime and the local District Attorney has filed murder and ethnic intimidation charges in the slaying. The trial will take place in the coming months.
“Hispanics are under assault in America’s neighborhoods,” stated MALDEF President and General Counsel John Trasviña. “Heightened anti-immigrant sentiment fueled by cable and radio talk show hosts, coupled with local police efforts to enforce federal immigration law, leaves members of our communities more in danger with less protection than ever before. The FBI report makes the enactment of comprehensive immigration reform more critical to our community’s safety and the nation’s future. It must be a priority for the next President and Congress.”
The report goes on to demonstrate the steady growth of anti-Hispanic hate crimes after 2003.
2007: 595 anti-Hispanic crimes against 830 victims
2006: 576 anti-Hispanic crimes against 819 victims
2005: 522 anti-Hispanic crimes against 722 victims
2004: 475 anti-Hispanic crimes against 646 victims
2003: 426 anti-Hispanic crimes against 595 victims
2002: 480 anti-Hispanic crimes against 639 victims
MALDEF Represents Fiancée of Luis Ramirez at Preliminary Hearing; Emotional Testimony Results in Court Ruling Directing Defendants to Stand Trial
Following is the main text of this month's newsletter.
AUGUST 26, 2008 — Last Monday, the three defendants charged with the hate crime against Luis Ramirez that resulted in his death last month in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania were ordered to stand trial as adults for their actions in a drunken, epithet-fueled attack that left the Mexican immigrant unconscious, convulsing and foaming at the mouth.
The ruling ensures that two of the defendants will be tried on charges of third-degree murder and ethnic intimidation for their roles in the attack, which caused Ramirez’s death two days later. A third defendant will be tried on counts of aggravated assault, ethnic intimidation and other charges.
During the preliminary hearing, witness testimony revealed the racial nature of the crime. A friend of the assailants who was present during the beating, but reportedly took no part in it, testified that the fight began when one of the defendants shouted ethnic slurs at Ramirez. A retired Philadelphia police officer testified that she heard one of the defendants yell “Tell your [expletive] Mexican friends to get the [expletive] out of Shenandoah or you’ll be [expletive] laying next to him.” The defendant’s comments were directed at Ramirez’s friends who came to his aid after receiving a distress call from him on a cell phone during the beating. Ramirez’s fiancée Crystal Dillman, wept as she described racing to the scene and coming upon the body of Ramirez convulsing and foaming at the mouth. She said that prior to the attack, Ramirez was frequently called race-based derogatory names and told to go back to Mexico.
After MALDEF's letter to U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) opened a hate crime investigation, and DOJ Community Relations Service representatives were sent to Shenandoah to ease racial tensions. MALDEF also called on the local prosecutor to charge the defendants with hate crimes, despite local officials’ initial denials that race played a role in the attack. Soon thereafter, the local prosecutor filed ethnic intimidation charges, among others.
Following the death of Luis Ramirez, MALDEF attorneys organized a peaceful candlelight vigil in his honor and held a national press conference to highlight the severity of the case, and to speak out against anti-immigrant sentiment, ordinances and hate crimes. MALDEF attorneys were back in Shenandoah last week for the preliminary hearing, and represented Ramirez’s fiancée as she testified in court. MALDEF attorneys are presently engaged with local officials and community groups to improve race relations. As the Shenandoah school year starts this week, MALDEF has called on school officials to assure Latino parents that schools will be safe environments and that ethnic harassment will not be tolerated.
MALDEF President and General Counsel John Trasviña said that the case reveals a disturbing and widespread attitude towards immigrants. “Hate crimes against Hispanics have skyrocketed in recent years. Like the horrific deaths of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, this tragic, senseless crime should be a wake-up call for all Americans,” he said.
“We must squarely address this problem by taking on those who irresponsibly spew anti-immigrant rhetoric,” said Gladys Limón, MALDEF Staff Attorney. “We must work together to drown out hate in the media. You can start by visiting our Truth In Immigration website.”
MALDEF continues to closely monitor the case and to represent Luis Ramirez’s family as the criminal justice process proceeds.
Murder of Luis Ramirez Requires National Action
Following is the main text of this month's newsletter.
MALDEF assists family and community
AUGUST 8, 2008 — On July 12, Luis Ramirez, a 25-year-old Mexican immigrant residing in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, was beaten and stomped to death. Witnesses overheard anti-Mexican and ethnic epithets shouted by his assailants. This violent hate crime is a tragic example of the growing and virulent anti-immigrant sentiment heard and felt around the nation. We must put a stop to it.
In the days following his murder, MALDEF called upon U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, the United States Attorney’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to conduct a full and fair federal investigation, and to bring appropriate criminal charges against those responsible. MALDEF also called for the dispatch of representatives from the Department of Justice Community Relations Service to quell community tensions. The Department of Justice subsequently opened a federal civil rights investigation and dispatched CRS representatives to Shenandoah. MALDEF organized a vigil and press conference in memory of Luis Ramirez together with local community members, and focused national attention on the significance of this hate crime specifically, and those against Latinos generally. MALDEF provided much needed legal support to Luis Ramirez’s fiancé and their children in the aftermath of this tragedy.
While local officials initially attempted to minimize the ethnic aspects of the murder, the county district attorney filed murder and ethnic intimidation charges against three local teenagers. Charging documents and eyewitness accounts indicate that Luis Ramirez suffered racial slurs as the perpetrators punched and kicked his body and head causing him to foam at the mouth, to sustain two skull fractures, and ultimately, to die. The death of Luis Ramirez has repercussions beyond his family and community. The FBI Hate Crimes Statistics Report documents that hate crimes against Latinos have increased by 35% over the past several years. We must prevent these crimes from happening and demand prosecution and punishment to the full extent of the law when they do.
MALDEF will continue to assist Luis Ramirez’s family and Latinos in the Shenandoah community as the criminal case goes forward. Luis Ramirez’s death elevates the importance of strong hate crimes laws and enforcement and exposes the depth of hostilities immigrants face all too often.
MALDEF has worked this year on the recent introduction of federal legislation to improve the integration of immigrants into cities, towns and communities across the country. S.3334/H.R.6617, introduced by Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Representative Mike Honda (D-CA), Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Representative Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX) will authorize the creation of immigrant integration councils bringing together local leaders from labor, business, education, faith, ethnic and other walks of life to promote education, job training, civic engagement and broader interaction of immigrants and the wider community. Tough prosecution of hate crimes and avenues to empower immigrants in their new communities can make a difference.
MALDEF will represent the family of Luis Ramirez and will do all that we can to ensure that justice is done. We call on you to help ensure the safety and advancement of immigrants in your own city or town. Call your Senator and Member of Congress today and ask them to cosponsor S.3334/H.R.6617. Send the message that the demonization of Latinos and immigrants must desist, our civil rights must be protected, and our contributions to the community must be respected.