Petition to bring federal charges in the murder
of Mexican immigrant Luis Ramirez
Please sign MALDEF Petition at
http://maldef.org/luis_ramirez_petition/
Also, please read our note below the following copy of the petition.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20530
We respectfully request that the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice conduct a thorough and comprehensive federal investigation surrounding the brutal murder of Luis Ramirez in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania and to bring appropriate criminal charges against his assailants.
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.
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 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.
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 the trial appeared to be biased because of the racism and prejudice he noted among his fellow jurors. 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.
We respectfully request that the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice launch a full investigation into the horrible crime that occurred last July in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. It is imperative that the Department of Justice step in and send a strong message that hate crimes of any kind will not be tolerated in our great nation.
In addition to the MALDEF petition above, La Voz de Aztlan requests that the US Department of Justice investigate the Shenandoah Police Department. One of the killers, Colin Walsh and another witness by the name of Barry Boyer, testified in court that the mother of one of the defendants, Tammy Piekarsky, was the "lover" of Officer Jason Hayes of the Shenandoah police. Officer Hayes intervened significantly in the investigation and may explained why there were initial efforts to cover up the hate crime and why it took a long time to file charges.
The verdict of the "all White jury" now places all Mexicans and other Latinos in great jeopardy. It sends the message, loud and clear, that a gang of racist killers can lynch and beat a Mexican to death and that it would be punished only as a "simple misdemeanor."
Please sign the petition at http://maldef.org/luis_ramirez_petition/
Note Ariel Garcia's comments concerning the Shenandoah Police Department.
