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learn more Working for Justice in Our Communities Since 1929
In Shenandoah, PA, the community is inching its way toward justice.
Three federal indictments that include commission of a hate crime, obstruction of justice, conspiracy, official misconduct, and extortion have been recently handed down by a federal grand jury in the case of the fatal beating of Luis Ramirez. On July 12, 2008, Ramirez was beaten to death when his alleged assailants attacked him in the street on their way home from a town festival, kicking and hitting him while members of the group yelled racial slurs. Ramirez died from the injuries he sustained in that hateful attack, leaving behind his partner and their two children, whose interests the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) represented in court soon thereafter.
In spite of the horrific details of the crime, damning evidence, and a number of serious criminal charges, the state trial released the defendants with little more than a slap on the wrist. This was not a trial for a petty infraction mind you, but rather a case whose outcome should have found justice for a man's death and for his surviving family. Therefore, MALDEF called upon the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate the fatal beating and the accounts of police misconduct that were brought forth in testimony at the trial.
The indictments, just unsealed yesterday after being returned on December 10, 2009, allege that Derrick Donchak and Brandon Piekarsky--the primary defendants in the murder trial--and others, including some members of the Shenandoah Police Department, conspired to obstruct the investigation of Ramirez's murder. An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence of guilt, so justice still has yet to be served.
From Restore Fairness Blog
Immigration courts must be fair. Especially since deportation is like life or death sentence for many. Watch Judge Dana Marks, President of the National Association of Immigration Judges, and the ABA take on the need for an independent court system.
In Sheriff Joe Arpaio's world, justice is trampled every day. Now, if you are an immigrant detainee, you could find yourself marching in chains to segregated "Tent Cities" in the Arizona desert, surrounded by electric fencing.
Well, together with the House Judiciary Committee and a wide range of organizations, we're shouting, "Not so fast!" People from all across the country are speaking out against Arpaio's blatant civil and human rights violations.
Here's the great news: along with our friends at United Farm Workers, the Fair Immigration Reform Movement, NDLON, and more, we have already collected 8,000 petition signatures for Attorney General Eric Holder, demanding an investigation into Joe's horrific tactics. Only 2,000 signatures are left to reach the goal of 10,000 by the first week of March.
Watch a brand-new video about Sheriff Joe, sign the petition, and forward to your friends and family now:
Today, the House Judiciary Committe released a letter to Janet Napolitano and the Attorney General, calling on the Department of Justice to investigate Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona. And I couldn't be happier.
Last week, Sheriff "Arpayaso" reached a new low, when he paraded over 200 immigrant detainees to a "tent city", surrounded by electric fences, shackled and forced to wear striped prison uniforms. This move, a horrofic publicity stunt using people as props, is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Sheriff Joe's Human and Civil Rights abuses.
Arpaio is a modern day Bull Connor and his publicity-seeking crusades have made the Latino community scared and Maricopa County less safe by prioritizing racial profiling over executing the felony warrants that have piled up on his desk. His most recent scheme, rounding up immigrants and shipping them off to separate "tent cities," is just the latest in a career filled with dangerous and anti-Latino demagoguery.
It is also great news to hear that the Judiciary Committee is recommending an investigation of the 287(g) agreement between DHS and Maricopa County - it is this agreement that gives Arpaio the ability to enforce Federal immigration law, but not "to create mini Gitmos".
The letter was sent from the office of Rep. John Conyers, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and stated:
"Racial profiling and segregation are simply not acceptable." said Conyers. "Media stunts and braggadocio are no substitute for fair and effective law enforcement."
Arpaio must be stopped, before his brand of hate is normalized and becomes an acceptable form of "law enforcement". He is not just an isolated rogue, but rather the pulse of the racist anti-immigrant movement that is working to dehumanize immigrants and strip them of their rights.
For more on this, check out www.sheriffjoemustgo.com and sign onto the petition from America's Voice.
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