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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Ronald G. Waters
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Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus wants justice in Luis Ramirez case
HARRISBURG, June 8 – The Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus has sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. requesting that federal civil rights charges be brought against two of the teenagers charged in the beating of 25-year-old Mexican immigrant Luis Ramirez in Shenandoah, Pa.
On July 12, 2008, Ramirez was beaten so severely that his skull was crushed in two places. Despite eyewitness testimony that identified Brandon Piekarsky and Derrick Donchack savagely beating Ramirez while shouting racial epithets, both were acquitted of aggravated assault and ethnic intimidation charges in their jury trial.
"The circumstances of this case are an affront to decades of racial progress in this nation and send a dangerous message to those who erroneously believe that the law condones such behavior," said state Rep. Ronald G. Waters, chairman of the PLBC.
"We believe the facts of this case warrant federal intervention and justify federal charges," Waters said. "Luis Ramirez and his family deserve justice in this case."
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