Last week, while we learned of the death penalty sentence given to Minutemen leader and murderer Shawna Forde for the home invasion killing of two Latino American citizens, two Pennsylvania men convicted of severely beating an illegal Mexican immigrant in 2008 were sentenced last Wednesday to nine years in prison.
As reported by CBS News, the two men, Derrick Donchak and Brandon Piekarsky, were part of a group of white high school football players in Shenandoah, PA who attacked 25-year-old Luis Ramírez in 2008. Prosecutors in the case, which produced a conviction last October, claimed that the players beat Ramírez because of his ethnicity and because they didn’t want Ramírez living in their town. Ramírez eventually died from the injuries sustained in the brutal beating.
Luis Ramírez, beaten by white teenagers and eventually died from the injuries sustained
As CBS reports:
Justice Department prosecutor Myesha Braden said in court Wednesday that while Piekarsky, now 19, and Donchak, now 21, did not intend to kill Ramirez, they decided his ethnicity made him “somehow worthy of being beaten like a dog in the streets.”
Defense attorneys said they will appeal the verdicts and sentences.
The pair were convicted in October. They could have received more than 12 years to more than 15 years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines, but U.S. District Judge Richard Caputo granted them a reduction because of their personal character and conduct before Ramirez’s beating, as well as the numerous letters and testimonials he received.
He also noted Ramirez’s death and the crimes of Piekarsky and Donchak.
“The jury found that Mr. Ramirez died as a result of his ethnicity or race. This is serious business in America,” said Caputo, adding: “There are no winners here, only losers.”
Brandon Piekarsky, Copyright © The Associated Press
The report presents a good summary of the case, which garnered national attention last year:
Prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed that youth, testosterone and alcohol played a role. But they argued over the mindset of a quartet of belligerent teens who called Ramirez an ethnic slur, told him to go back to Mexico and assaulted the immigrant with their fists and feet.
Federal charges were brought against Piekarsky and Donchak after another all-white jury acquitted them of serious state crimes, including third-degree murder in Piekarsky’s case. Hispanic activists decried the May 2009 verdict, calling Ramirez’s death part of a rising tide of hate crimes against Latinos. They and Gov. Ed Rendell appealed for a Justice Department prosecution.
Piekarsky was accused of delivering a fatal kick to Ramirez’s head after he’d been knocked unconscious by another teen, Colin Walsh, who pleaded guilty in federal court and testified against his childhood friends. A fourth teen, Brian Scully, pleaded guilty in juvenile court and also testified for the prosecution.
Both defendants were convicted of a hate crime under the Fair Housing Act. Donchak also was convicted of two counts that he conspired with three Shenandoah police officers to cover up the crime. Those officers were tried last month in federal court on charges they obstructed a federal investigation into the fatal beating, but a jury rejected most of the government’s case.
Derrick Donchak, Copyright © The Associated Press
“There are no winners here, only losers.” How true.
Exactly. Quite telling comment.
I’ve followed the tragic story of Luis Ramirez since his beating death in 2008. Perhaps the saddest aspect of this killing is how unrepentant some people remain. Anonymous comments left on online news stories of Luis’s killing show many secretly support the slaying as a message to the undocumented. The young men convicted of this crime came from an environment where their deeds reflected a sentiment of hate and intolerance. Until politicians stop scapegoating the undocumented and pandering to the worst side of human nature, I fear these crimes will continue.
Me too, quite sadly, but at least there were two major convictions this week.
Agreed. Yet, with many states poised to adopt laws like AZ’s SB1070 that require police to question the immigration status of witnesses, how many crimes against Latinos will not be investigated when people fear stepping forward?
It’s funny you say that I just interviewed a young Latino in California who was falsely arrested because of very clear racial profiling. He is speaking up.
when you say ‘undocumented’, you mean ILLEGAL right? Why don’t you quit sugar coating it. If you are here ILLEGALY, we don’t want you. Furhtermore, we don’t want the scum of Mexico-of whom Mexico doesn’t even want-plaguing our jails, our schools, our cities and our neighbohoods. There is a difference between descent hispanic people and these ILLEGAL criminal scum who are invading our country. I personally think these two young men should be given a medal for their patriatism. If an American were to sneak into Mehico illegaly, then they’d also be beaten or jailed, etc. ILLEGALS don’t deserve any special treatment, other than the kind that unfortunately landed these to bright and young AMERICAN males in prison. ILLEGALS undercut wages, rape our women, sell drugs, murder AMERICAN citezens, and here you are crying for some ILLEGAL lowlife. You make me sick.
Illegals spell better than you, bro. Keep hating. Really makes you look good.
I’m sorry but you are a super stupid person no my bad may god bless you
Who is supporting that baby Ramirez is holding? I thought so.
What are you referring to? Say more.
Your comment lacks logic