ILLEGAL LAW

For those who have ever thought "Send the Mexicans back where they came from," please read my previous essay, "Illegal Is Not A Noun."

On May 1, 2009, 2 White defendants were found guilty of Simple Assault, committed against a Mexican immigrant. To some, this may be seen as a victory in Race relations and an intolerance for discrimination and hate crimes. In reality, this is a supreme injustice and a clear example of the racial inequality within our justice system. The most serious charges were 3rd degree murder, aggravated assault, and ethnic intimidation.

Even the lesser convictions are questionable. Derrick Donchak, 19, who was convicted of "providing" alcohol to minors, in addition to simple assault, is under the legal drinking age of 21(in PA). He received no underage drinking charge. This is particularly puzzling to me, because I happen to have 2 underage drinking charges from way back before I turned 21. Even CNN reports casually about a 19 year-old BUYING alcohol. (not to mention the place that sold it to him) And in the end, being drunk during the tragic beating is used in the defendants' favor.

Before I cover some of the facts of this case, I want to bring to light something said by Mr. Donchak's lawyer, Jefferey Markosky. In debate of whether Donchak's wearing a Border Patrol Agent T-shirt would reflect his stance on immigration, Mr. Markosky states "A T-shirt is not an expression of what your inner beliefs are."

I highly disagree with that statement, and would bet that anyone who owns a T-shirt would too. From my "MEXICO" soccer jersey to the "LA ALHAMBRA" T, with the Arabic writing to the ROOTS concert T. And to my boy, Mike O, T-Shirts are a religion. I'm not saying it's impossible, but you have to feel "some kinda way" to wear a Border Patrol T-Shirt. I WOULD NOT. AND I WOULD NOT BEAT AN IMMIGRANT TO DEATH EITHER. See the correlation?



To many, this is known and accepted. To many more, it's more convenient(and selfish) to ignore it. And that's IGNOREant. Racism will not end without everyone. Racism is so complex that it cannot be overcome without conscious participation. This is not easy. So here's an example of two racial injustices in PA and how they relate to one another.

Firstly, in the Shenandoah case the defendants are White. The victim was Mexican. All-white jury. From press releases, it seems the argument was not whether this gang of drunken teenagers killed Luis Ramirez, but WHICH ONE lunged the fatal kick to his skull.

Another man, 18 year-old Brian Scully, is the one who allegedly thrust the final blow. Curiously, he is facing only juvenile aggravated assault charges. Why should this adult be tried as a juvenile?

Supporters of the defendants say things like:

Listen these are kids we are talking about. No matter how you look at it they ARE NOT COMPLETELY MENTALLY DEVELOPED.

In no way should they have ever been tried as adults and that is why the jury let them off. I am not only speaking for myself but for just about every male I know when I say there was a time when I was their age that I was in a fight and things got out of hand, however there is a very fine line that sometimes get crossed and this is an example of that.

I understand that there should be consequences for these young men, but in no way should they spend the rest of their lives with out a chance at normalcy.

If they were not white of course they would have been convicted but we live in America. We need to stop sentencing teens as adults. period.

I applaud the jury for their decision, and I hope that when your son or daughter gets in a fight and someone gets hurt that you will understand.

Such a sense of forgiveness and willingness to write it off as "boys will be boys." When truthfully, 3 of the 4 were adults. No doubt this decision will be appealed. And federal charges are already pending.

From Shenandoah, let's go to Lancaster, PA, where a Black 16 yo is being held in Lancaster County (adult)Prison. He's charged with homicide, being charged as an adult, and faces life in prison.

Lancaster County District Attorney, Craig Stedman says "Given the facts, there is no question that the upgrade is appropriate." Although not specifically cited, I would guess the upgrade is appropriate due to the DA's Gang Crime Reduction Initiative(GCRI).

This initiative enjoys all the powers of enforcement, at the same time it admits "the accuracy of the identification of gang affiliation and gang crime is being assessed as well as the effectiveness of gang intervention, prevention and disruption strategies." The GCRI "targets for aggressive prosecution," those who are identified as "gang-affiliated," which it does not have a root definition for.

In the case of Tyler Johns, his only affiliation with gangs seems to be he was harassed by them. Hopefully, the DA does not subscribe to the ideology that killing a gang member in self-defense is "gang-affiliated." Johns prior police record was fighting and curfew violations. No drugs or alcohol involved.

"City police Detective Lt. Charles Schmidt testified that Johns, told him he was frightened of Wright-Carter(victim) from earlier encounters.

Under cross-examination from defense attorney Hobie Crystle, Schmidt testified that Johns told him that in the weeks just prior to the stabbing Wright-Carter, of West Vine Street, shot at him, beat him and was a member of the violent Bloods street gang."

The victim in this case, Kenyon Wright-Carter, 18, was an adult. This detective admits he was told by a child that he was scared of an adult who previously attacked him. And nothing was done. Weeks later, a child is startled to see someone he fears. And with the history of already being shot at, he assumes he has a gun. Seems logical.

The child is literally at a gun fight with a knife. He grabs the knife and swallows his fear. BLACK OUT. What would you do? At 16? When you've already been denied equal protection under the law? When you suffer from Anosognosia?



Tyler Johns'incident happened January 24, 2009, and he turned himself in 2 days later. The men who killed Luis Ramirez, turned themselves in 3 weeks later to a cop who's dating one of their mothers.

Johns' case definitely has a chance of self-defense and temporary insanity. Ramirez's death was NOT self-defense; It was a drunken attack.

While the White 18 y-o, gets juvenile charges, the Black 16 y-o gets tried as an a adult.

The White defendants had an all-White jury. The Black defendant will not have an all-Black jury.

There is a reason our country failed to attend, or even acknowledge the need to, the UN Conference on Racism. There has never been a movement to reverse all the discriminatory laws in this country. Many perceive the Civil Rights Movement, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, to be the end of the equality fight. This perception ignores the fact that it was only the beginning of the discussion.

It's going to take all good people to care about justice.

R.I.P. Luis Ramirez (and all others killed for being who they are)