HRC Blog

On June 28, 2010, a New York State Supreme Court jury convicted Keith Phoenix of committing two hate crimes for beating José Sucuzhanay to death and attacking the decedent’s brother, Romel, in Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood after mistaking the Ecuadorian immigrants as a gay couple. Yesterday, Judge Patricia M. Di Mango determined that Pheonix and his accomplice, Hakim Scott, will serve a minimum prison term of just over three decades for the 2008 murder of José and the attempted assault on his brother Romel. While Phoenix was convicted of a hate crime, Scott was not.

The annual Gay Pride parade in downtown Jerusalem took over the streets yesterday. This year was a slightly different than the years past, holding a much more “March on Washington-esque” attitude. Gone were the floats and most of the wild outfits from last year. Yesterday’s march was purely political and commemorative of last year’s Tel Aviv gay and lesbian center massacre.

Yesterday, a New York State Supreme Court jury convicted Keith Phoenix of committing two hate crimes for beating José Sucuzhanay to death and attacking the decedent’s brother, Romel, in Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood after mistaking the Ecuadorian immigrants as a gay couple.

A mistrial was declared yesterday in the case of a man accused of beating a man to death in Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood after mistaking the victim and his brother, both Ecuadorian immigrants, for a gay couple.