Some satisfied, others outraged with verdict for immigrant's death

Rocket River · May 3, 2009

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/05/02/pa.immigrant.beating/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

Friends and relatives of two teens accused in the beating death of a Mexican immigrant struggled to contain their relief as not-guilty verdicts were announced on the most serious charges against the former high school football stars Friday.
Luis Ramirez died of blunt force injuries after a confrontation with a group of Pennsylania teens.

Luis Ramirez died of blunt force injuries after a confrontation with a group of Pennsylania teens.
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Gasps filled the courtroom and some had to be restrained by sheriff's deputies as they tried to rush the defense table after Derrick Donchak, 19, and Brandon Piekarsky, 17, were acquitted of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and ethnic intimidation for the death of Luis Ramirez.

Piekarsky was also found not guilty of third-degree murder for the death of Ramirez, who died of blunt force injuries after an encounter with the teens last summer.

However, the all-white jury of six men and six women from Schuylkill County jury found Piekarsky and Donchak guilty of simple assault.

The case drew national attention to the small town of Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, highlighting race relations and polarizing the community on who was to blame for the incident.

Lawyers for the teens never denied that their clients were involved in a physical altercation with Ramirez on a residential street the night of July 12.

Instead, they tried to cast Ramirez as the aggressor, and suggested that the other teens involved in the tangle of punches and blows were to blame.

"In my mind it was the lack of evidence to tie these kids to the serious charges that they brought," defense lawyer Frederick Fanelli said.

A cast of witnesses provided conflicting accounts regarding who initiated the encounter and who exactly did what, complicating prosecutors' efforts to assign blame.

"If you ask most prosecutors who are dealing with multiple defendants, and in this particular case there were at least four, it is extraordinary difficult to clear the fog of a fight," truTV anchor Ashleigh Banfield said.

The 25-year-old Mexican immigrant had settled in Shenandoah a year before his death with his wife, a lifelong resident of the faltering mining town, and their young children.

He was walking down a residential street with a friend when he encountered the group of teens, who had been drinking earlier in the evening. Donchak was convicted of providing alcohol to the other teens who were involved in the confrontation, including a juvenile co-defendant and another teen who pleaded guilty in federal court for his role in the fight.

Prosecutors alleged that the teens baited the Ramirez into a fight with racial epithets, provoking an exchange of punches and kicks that ended with Ramirez convulsing in the street, foaming from the mouth. He died two days later in a hospital.

Piekarsky was accused of delivering a fatal kick to Ramirez's head after he was knocked to the ground.

As they poured out of courthouse, the teens' supporters shouted "I was right from the start" and "I'm glad the jury listened" at cameras that caught the late-night verdict.
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But Gladys Limon, a spokeswoman for the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund, said the jury had sent a troubling message.

"The jurors here [are] sending the message that you can brutally beat a person, without regard to their life, and get away with it, continue with your life uninterrupted," she said.

"In this case, the message is that a person who may not be popular in society based on their national origin or certain characteristic has less value in our society," she said.

The extent of Ramirez's injuries, which had left his brain oozing from his skull, according to medical testimony, should have sufficed for a conviction other than simple assault, Limon said.

"The acts here were egregious in brutality and it's just outrageous and very difficult to understand how any juror could have had reasonable doubt, especially as to the aggravated assault and the reckless enganderment charges," she said.
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Limon said her group intends to press the Department of Justice to file federal charges against the teens.

"Luis Ramirez's family deserves vindication for his death," she said. "This incident has not only disrupted Luis Ramirez's family, but the entire community."
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Interesting . . .

Rocket River

Kim · May 3, 2009

Well, if there wasn't enough evidence then there wasn't enough evidence.

glynch · May 3, 2009

They need to get the Feds involved. Sounds a lot like what used to be routine in the South when a black man got killed, but who knows.

It is tough to pin it on any one person when you have a gang like that.

BetterThanEver · May 3, 2009

How do you assign blame with multiple assailants? A bunch of guys jump on the victim and assault him, but if they walk away while one guy kicks him in the head. Are the others guilty if they stopped?

A_3PO · May 3, 2009

Reading that made me sick. Reminds me of the JonBenet Ramsey murder. Murderer(s) go free.

Refman · May 3, 2009

A_3PO said:

Reading that made me sick. Reminds me of the JonBenet Ramsey murder. Murderer(s) go free.
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I find it appropriate to quote Kinky Friedman. "I'm not against the death penalty. I am against the wrong guy getting killed."

The fact is that if you cannot prove which of the multiple assailants caused the fatal injuries, you cannot prove up a murder case.

I do not doubt that a murderer went free in this case. I just don't know whether that murderer was a defendant in this case or whether they have not been caught, identified, or charged.

Dan B. · May 3, 2009

Refman said:

I find it appropriate to quote Kinky Friedman. "I'm not against the death penalty. I am against the wrong guy getting killed."

The fact is that if you cannot prove which of the multiple assailants caused the fatal injuries, you cannot prove up a murder case.

I do not doubt that a murderer went free in this case. I just don't know whether that murderer was a defendant in this case or whether they have not been caught, identified, or charged.
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Everyone got off, on charges of assault and endangerment, not just murder.

I would agree that there isn't enough vidence to give anyone the death penalty. It was not used in this case anyway. I would even agree that murder may have been to high of a charge to file.

But every one of them deserved prison time for assault and manslaughter at least.

Rocket River · May 3, 2009

I thought there was some law . . about MOBS or something.

Rocket River

A_3PO · May 3, 2009

Refman said:

I find it appropriate to quote Kinky Friedman. "I'm not against the death penalty. I am against the wrong guy getting killed."

The fact is that if you cannot prove which of the multiple assailants caused the fatal injuries, you cannot prove up a murder case.

I do not doubt that a murderer went free in this case. I just don't know whether that murderer was a defendant in this case or whether they have not been caught, identified, or charged.
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100% agree. But it still makes me sick to my stomach the murderer(s) did not get justice.

CometsWin · May 3, 2009

Between an immigrant family man in a strange town and a group of drunk teens it's not difficult to guess who would initiate a fight. Unless one of the teens tried to stop the fight or called the police to get help then they should all be guilty of murder. The guy's brain was oozing out of his freaking skull according to the ME. Some common sense is in order here.

Landlord Landry · May 3, 2009

I can't believe you guys are wasting your time with this meaningless discussion while Mrs. Obama is out wearing $500 kicks.

Qball · May 3, 2009

Should have been more than just simple assault.

El_Conquistador · May 3, 2009

What is the purpose of this thread? What are we supposed to be debating and discussing? Is the hidden intent of the OP one that is racially motivated?

Right now you guys are just guessing as to the facts of the case. Uninformed groping for answers in the dark....

meh · May 4, 2009

Woah. So there's NO law which determine how to spread punishment for what basically is group murder? In that case, if you want to kill someone, make sure you do it with a whole bunch of other people and you get away with it!?!?!?

That seems pretty weird.

Invisible Fan · May 4, 2009

^Just make sure your neighbors are in the jury and that you are as American as apple pie.

Xenochimera · May 4, 2009

shouldnt this be at least involuntary manslaughter?

dmc89 · May 4, 2009

Trader_Jorge said:

What is the purpose of this thread? What are we supposed to be debating and discussing? Is the hidden intent of the OP one that is racially motivated?

Right now you guys are just guessing as to the facts of the case. Uninformed groping for answers in the dark....
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We're discussing how one can get away with murder, provided the jury is of the same racial group and that there were multiple defendants involved.

Downplaying the racial message of the verdict is a type of racism (forgot the term) itself.

pgabriel · May 4, 2009

meh said:

Woah. So there's NO law which determine how to spread punishment for what basically is group murder? In that case, if you want to kill someone, make sure you do it with a whole bunch of other people and you get away with it!?!?!?

That seems pretty weird.
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yeah, so if i decide i want to kill someone, i can just take a group of my friends, act like we're just picking some random fight, and then all us blame each other as to who dealt the lethal blow? why arent' they all responsible?

Rocketman95 · May 4, 2009

pgabriel said:

yeah, so if i decide i want to kill someone, i can just take a group of my friends, act like we're just picking some random fight, and then all us blame each other as to who dealt the lethal blow? why arent' they all responsible?
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first annual clutchfans mob beating?

surrender · May 4, 2009

And this is why we still have hate crime laws.

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Some satisfied, others outraged with verdict for immigrant's death

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