The A.P. is reporting that two teens acquitted of the most serious state charges in the beating death of a Mexican immigrant could face federal charges.The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division is reviewing evidence surrounding the fatal fight last summer between high school football players and Luis Ramirez in predominantly white Schuylkill County, spokesman Alejandro Miyar said yesterday.
Brandon Piekarsky, 17,and Derrick Donchak, 19,were acquitted of third-degree murder and ethnic intimidation by an all-White jury. The problem is the Shenandoah is over 95% White with many of its residents apparently espousing anti-immigrant hatred.
The problems with this case start on the night of the racist killing. Eileen Burke, a retired Philadelphia police officer, states that the first police officer on the scene saw the badly beaten and dying Ramirez and asked him if he was drunk. Burke also stated that the officer acted in a manner which suggested to her that the officer wanted to kick Ramirez as he lay dying on the ground. She furthered criticized the police for not securing the crime scene. The police did not even use yellow tape to keep the people out.
The day after the killing, a police officer who was the partner of the live-in boyfriend of the mother of the teen accused of murder was the first cop to speak to the young men. There are implications that he told them to work on coordinating their stories. Rather than investigate and gather evidence, the local law agency was obstructing justice by telling the killer teens to get their stories straight.
Eileen Burke was never called as a witness by the incompetent prosecutor. She would have been a credible witness as a former cop. She also offered her opinion as to her surprise that the all-White jury did not convict the teen killers of ethnic intimidation. According to published reports she said: "How did the ethnic intimidation go? Because the first thing that got me out of my room was the "f" word the "Spic" word, you know what I mean?"
The prosecutor did not adequately challenge the defense attorney when he called Tovar Alvarez to the stand. Alvarez, a friend of Ramirez, arrived AFTER the fatal beating. His presence had nothing to do with the fact that Ramirez was fatally beaten by the teens.
Alvarez showed the teens a BB gun as they were fleeing AFTER the beating. The defense attorney presented the gun to the jury. This seemed to ignite the jury according to several who attended the trial.
Alvarez and the BB gun had nothing to do with the beating. This was after the fact.
Now, the jury foreman is stating that he observed prejudice in fellow jurors.
Injustice for one is injustice for all.
REFERENCES:
U.S. REVIEWS BEATING DEATH OF IMMIGRANT FOR CHARGES
MALDEF launches petition for DOJ to investigate Shenandoah killing
