Teens acquitted of murder in immigrant's fatal beating

[ccharles000]

POTTSVILLE, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- Two Pennsylvania teens were acquitted of murder, aggravated assault and ethnic intimidation charges Friday in the beating death of a Mexican immigrant last summer.

However, a Schuylkill County jury found Brandon Piekarsky and Derrick Donchak guilty of simple assault stemming from the death of Luis Ramirez, who died of blunt force injuries to the head after a fight with the defendants and their friends.

Donchak, 19, was also found guilty of providing alcohol to the group of teens that encountered Ramirez the night of July 12 on a residential street in the rural mining town of Shenandoah.

Prosecutors alleged the teens baited the undocumented Mexican immigrant 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 in Danville.

Piekarsky, 17, had faced a charge of third-degree murder for allegedly delivering a fatal kick to Ramirez's head after he was knocked to the ground. He also was found not guilty of ethnic intimidation, aggravated assault and attempting to solicit a cover-up.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/05/01/pa.immigrant.beating/index.html

[Adsos Letter]

1. How was this not at least second-degree murder?!

[lapfog_1]

6. Let's see...

1. All white jury

2. Conflicting testimony from prosecution witnesses, two of which already pled guilty to other charges in a plea bargain... one of those two was a juvenile.

3. The defense argued that there were 2 incidents... one in which this gang of assholes went looking for someone to beat up... found the victim and attacked him, apparently without doing too much harm. The victim walked away from that attack when one of the gang (the aforementioned juvenile) called him a racial slur, whereupon the victim returned to the area and attacked the two defendants. The defense claimed that the resulting fight was a different from the first and, therefore, it was self-defense.

4. Obviously the victim wasn't able to tell his side of the story.

That's how they skated on what should have been a hate crime and 2nd degree murder convictions.

[MrSlayer]

2. Yes, the illegal savage had it coming for daring to defend himself against real Americans.

These two assholes had better walk a straight line the rest of their lives, they just walked on what should be a capital murder charge.

[Liberal813]

3. Why did this happen?

Tragically, their remains a substantial degree of prejudice, in many rural areas of Pennsylvania. It is doubtful that the jury would have convicted these two of murder, regardless of the legal status of the Mexican immigrant.

[aquart]

4. What'll they get? Community service? Bragging rights?

[cabluedem]

5. They'll get a high five from thr RW fucktards, thats what.

[old mark]

7. Schuylkill County, PA is a tradiotonally mean, stupid area. It is rural,

used to be a coal mining area, is now home to a lot of RWers, outlaw bikers, alcoholics and "religious" people all of whom hate strangers, defined as anyone not born right there. I worked for years with several people from that county, and have never found a decent human being from there yet.

mark

[WeDidIt]

8. Ahhh, assholes on a jury nullified murder of illegal immigrants

Funny thing is, I know Schuykill County.

IT wasn't long ago when most of the illegal immigrants in Schuykill County were illegal immigrants from Poland and Italy. To this day, the Poles hate the Italians and vice versa.

It's one of the most racist counties in PA. If a black family attempted to move in I think they'd be killed.

And now it's open season on Mexican immigrants there.

[rucky]

9. Maybe it was one of those "hoaxx" hate crimes?

[ccharles000]

10. kick

[NashVegas]

11. It Doesn't Help When Prosecution Goes For a "Win" Instead of a "Truth"

First, let me allow some givens: these kids are little pigs and if someone wanted to take them out, they'd be doing the world a huge favor. Regarding all the charges of things that were not in question (involuntary manslaughter, for example) that the jury voted to acquit, if someone wanted to throw eggs at the jurors' cars and stuff their mailboxes with dogshit on a daily basis, I wouldn't wag a finger at that person.


That said, there were serious inconsistencies regarding testimony about who gave the fatal kick, that the defense was VERY able to use to their advantage. That being the case

Brian Scully, 18, faces counts of aggravated assault and ethnic intimidation in juvenile court. Colin Walsh, who admitted punching Ramirez with such force that his head bounced off the pavement, pleaded guilty in federal court to violating Ramirez's civil rights. As a result, third-degree murder and other state counts against the 18-year-old were dismissed.

''We do not have to rule out every doubt -- we have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt,'' Assistant District Attorney Robert Frantz said. ''And we have done that.''

But Fanelli said eyewitnesses identified Scully as the teen who kicked Ramirez in the head as he lay unconscious in the street after a fight July 12, perhaps causing a skull fracture that led to his death two days later. Police said the teens shouted ethnic slurs.

''There is not only reasonable doubt in the case, there is overwhelming doubt,'' Fanelli told the jury. ''Is it possible Brian Scully was the kicker? If so, you have reasonable doubt.

''Scully and Walsh, their two star witnesses, got a pass. Their testimony was bought and paid for.''

Fanelli said prosecutors didn't call Ramirez's friend Ariel Garcia as a witness. She testified for the defense that as she knelt beside Ramirez, she saw the final kick by someone wearing shoes that matched the description of those worn by Scully, not Piekarsky.

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-a1_1racial.6883718may02,0,457571.story

[TommyO]

12. I am so glad that I'm no longer a resident of Pennsylvania

This verdict is a travesty.