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Last fall, three men were charged with hate crimes in the October death of Michael Sandy. Prosecutors charged that lya Shurov, Anthony Fortunato, and John Fox had gone to a gay chat room, lured Sandy to Plum Beach, and then robbed and beat him. Sandy ran into the Belt Parkway and died from injuries sustained when he was hit by traffic. Sandy had been in a coma for six days; family took him off a respirator the day after his birthday.
The NY Times reported on yesterday's pretrial hearing, which was very emotional. Fortunato's lawyer "offered a $1.2 million bail package compiled from family real estate holdings," and mentioned that Fortunato would not be a flight risk because then his widowed mother (his father died near the time of the crime) would lose her home. His lawyer also said Fortunato was not acting with hate.
Here's the Brooklyn DA's explanation of why the three were charged with a hate crime:
Typically, according to state law, Hate Crimes are charged when prosecutors believe the defendants acted out of bias against the victims’ race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation. But the less used section of the law calls for Hate Crimes to be charged when the defendant “intentionally selects the person against whom the offense is committed or intended to be committed based on a belief about those same factors.Fortunato, who the Brooklyn DA's office called the "prime mover" in the scheme, was denied bail, and all three suspects remain in jail. The Daily News reports that Sandy's mother Denise was grateful the judge refused bail, saying, "We believe God will turn this around into something good. We were so close, it makes it hard; it's like a part of you was taken. I'm going to leave in my heart the good memories I have of my son."In this case, District Attorney Hynes charges that the defendants selected their victim based upon a belief about the victim’s sexual orientation then lured him into a trap in an attempt to rob him.
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What a sad story. I wish the same level of outrage that's been expressed for Sean Bell's death would be given to Michael Sandy. I guess a gay man's life is still cheaper than a black man's. Even today.
If the motive was robbery, I don't see any basis for a hate claim. I'd like to know more about this because so far I don't see any value in the enactment of "hate" penalties other than as a means to weaponize political correctness. Other than the recent case in Long Beach, I have never even heard of anyone BUT white males indicted for "hate crimes." Don't get me wrong...these guys still planned to rob and beat a person and for that I believe they should rot, but I can't help but feel that there is a severe inequality in how the hate implication is being used. What happened to those black kids who chased the white NYU student into traffic last year yelling "get the white boy?" A slap on the wrist...that's what happened to them.
Re: hate crime, the issue is that they specifically sought Sandy out via the gay chat room. I think the prosecutor would ask, why not a regular chat room? It'll be interesting to see how the jury reacts.
Remember the hate crime trial about white man Nicholas Minucci who beat a black man in Howard Beach? Minucci used the n-word, which elevated the charges to a hate crime. Had he not uttered those words, the Queens DA would have only been able to charge him with assault.
talk about your karma.
His dad dies around the same time as this attack. better get a 24 hour nurse for the mom. She could be next. Stranger things has happened.
Is it really that hard to understand why it's a hate crime? Would you be questioning the decision to prosecute as a hate crime if the defendants had met someone in a racially defined chat room? If they didn't care who they were attacking, why would they have gone through the process of finding someone to lure out there?
That being said, I don't think prosecution based on the defendants personal biases is a good idea. We're condemning people for the way they think instead of just their actions. I understand the motivations behind hate crime legislation; I just don't agree that it's a good idea.
They're not being condemned for what they think. They're being further condemned for a having a particular motive in killing him. There's already a distinction between accidental killing and intentional killing.
re: metoo
I'm a gay guy, and I don't really believe in hate crime laws. I'm more of the "a murder is a murder" mindset.
That being said, I do know that many people consider the rationale behind them to be more than just "weaponizing political correctness." Part of the rationale suggests that the crime is not simply one against the victim, but one against an entire group of people. The crime spreads fear through an entire group of people.
Example: Burning a cross on someone's lawn is not a simple act of vandalism. It is a simple form of terrorism that can paralyze an entire community with fear.
And chasing a white guy into traffic screaming "get the whiteboy" does not contribute to white peoples' fear of being in a black neighborhood at night? And if it does, the "just" thing to do is to label these people racists, right? Why is that, Michael?
I understand the basis for the charge . What I'm having a problem with is the fact that this guy brought this whole thing on himself ! I'm not saying that they should get off because he did something incredibly stupid !
Your comment was correct Shmurf . But think about the guys family, Do you think they would want to see a comment like that ? I know I wouldn't .
All I have to say is that at least on john fox's part this was not a hate crime. I'm sure of that because I went to highschool with him and there were people that were suspected of being gay and he never acted on toward them. He was actually th quiet kid that sat in the back.
All I have to say is that at least on john fox's part this was not a hate crime. I'm sure of that because I went to highschool with him and there were people that were suspected of being gay and he never acted toward them. He was actually the quiet kid that sat in the back.