Pedro Sucuzhañay, brother of the victim Jose, addresses the crowd during a rally at Myrtle Avenue and Grove Street in Dec. 2008. The sign reads “Hate killed.” Jose’s killers were sentenced to decades in prison. — Photo by Diego Cupolo
The two men convicted of the brutal baseball-bat beating death of Ecuadoran immigrant Jose Sucuzhañay were given the maximum sentence today in Brooklyn Supreme Court. Justice Patricia M. DiMango sentenced Keith Phoenix, 30, who was convicted of murder and assault as a hate crime, to 37 years to life in prison. The first case against Phoenix ended in mistrial. His accomplice in the crime, Hakim Scott, 27, who was convicted of manslaughter, was sentenced to 37 years in prison.
Prosecutors charged that Phoenix and Scott attacked Sucuzhañay and his brother Romel, because they were Latino and believed the brothers were gay as they walked arm-in-arm from a party in December 2008.
Romel Sucuzhañay, who has since moved back to Ecuador, said, "I have mental problems. And it is all because of the ignorance of these people and this distant event" reports the New York Times. Suffering minor injuries when he was attacked by Scott, Romel was a witness to the brutal beating of brother at the hands of Phoenix.
The Sucuzhañay family has plans to setup a foundation in honor of Jose that will help the NYPD with rewards to find suspects whose attacks are motivated by hate. The victim’s brother, Diego Sucuzhañay, told the Associated Press that he is sorry his brother had to die for this message. "Today’s sentencing sends a message. The city will not tolerate hate against anyone…against immigrants," he said.
In a 2008-videotaped confession taken at the 83 Precinct, Phoenix coldly tells investigators, "So I killed someone. That makes me a bad guy?" However, in court today Phoenix was more remorseful and through his lawyer told the judge, "I swear to God that is not what I intended to happen," reports the AP. Hakim Scott, who was also looking for leniency, told the judge he came from a good family and begged for a second chance. The judge was not moved — she told Phoenix that it was beyond comprehension that anyone could "take another human being’s life in such a cruel and violent manner."
The AP reported that Phoenix and Scott’s families wept in the courtroom after the sentencing and refused to comment. Also in the courtroom was Jose’s mother, Julia Quituna, who made the trip from Ecuador to attend the sentencing.
"As a mother I feel sad for the family of those who took my son. But they had no right to take the life of my son and leave his two children orphaned. For me, it is the greatest pain in my life," she said.
There have been other attacks on immigrants since the Sucuzhañay incident, including Mexican worker Mario Vera in Bushwick last October, and ten "hate-related" attacks in Staten Island in the last four months, according to Make the Road NY, a Bushwick-based immigant advocacy organization.
Make the Road blames an anti-immigrant atmosphere for the violent trend, punctuated by the recent law in Arizona that opponents say encourages racial profiling by police. MRNY advocates more tolerance education in public schools.
Karina Claudio, the LGBTQ Justice Organizer for MRNY told BushwickBK that they are glad that Phoenix was convicted of a hate crime but it is “unfortunate the other suspect was not charged with a hate crime. It sends the wrong message on how a hate crime is catergorized. There was enough evidence” to convict Scott on hate crime charges.
“The solution to hate crimes are more complex than just sending someone away to jail for life. We need to educate the youth and teach them tolerance and respect,” said Claudio.
vertigo August 5th, 2010 at 10:45 pm
Argh, I remember when this happened. There is so much ignorance around here it really gets to me. I see it all the time on the streets around here, people just attacking people for anything they can.
I’m glad these guys were put behind bars, I just wish it didn’t take a media circus to bring it all to light. I think everyone wants to find hatred and attack it, and they managed to embody it in these 2 guys. Locking them up behind bars won’t solve that, though it will solve the problem of these particular scumbags roaming the streets. But I feel like, in the right aggravated situation, so many people here would jump you with a baseball bat and yell whatever racial slur that you happen to be. It won’t go to solve that problem, and I’m not sure what will.
Another thing I wonder is, if the victim was actually gay, like they were called by the killers, and not hispanic, would Make the Road fight this hard for their justice? I hope so.
chillinoncentral August 6th, 2010 at 10:45 am
Respectfully, Vertigo, I disagree with a part of your comment… I’m glad that a “media circus” was created for this vicious attack because any such attack is news worthy and any attention brought to the crime, along with a judge throwing the book at these guys, contributes towards a better life. We really should do what we can to bring people like this to justice. Jose was a human being who deserved to live a life free from evil and his attackers should be held accountable to the greatest extent of the law. He wasn’t just a poster child for victims of hatred; he was a son, a brother, a nephew and a cousin; and his family deserves to know that justice prevailed. Without the media, we would not have had the chance to empathize with Jose’s family and the police may not have gotten as involved in helping to solve this crime. The media attention brought a light to this story and helped us to not be a careless and heartless society. I believe that the media has a responsibility to keep this senseless crime and all of the results evolving from the crime “alive” just as we have a responsibility to continue our prayers and support of Jose’s family, for the sake of all who are cruelly assaulted.
vertigo August 6th, 2010 at 3:04 pm
But I’m not saying I am against the media circus, I am saying that it should not take a media circus to get this kind of attention focused on it. I want every thug who thinks their bat, their bottle, their knife or their gun gives them power over the life of another, I want the community to come together against each and every one of them.
The shit going down in Staten Island and this incident is crazy, but I really don’t think there are parallels between the AZ law and this situation. Ignorant people are just that, and they swing their ignorance at anyone they can. They call them homophobic and racist epithets because that is an expression of their ignorance, not any expression of the victim’s identity.