{"id":67070,"date":"2024-09-04T11:51:44","date_gmt":"2024-09-04T18:51:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=67070"},"modified":"2024-09-04T11:51:44","modified_gmt":"2024-09-04T18:51:44","slug":"commit-a-hate-crime-serve-no-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=67070","title":{"rendered":"Commit a Hate Crime: Serve No Time?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By<\/span>Sunita Sohrabji<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Racial animus is extremely difficult to prove, say prosecutors. Last year, 1970 hate crimes were identified by law enforcement in California, but just 5 went to trial.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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(Sunita Sohrabji photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A young Thai American bartender, who was pepper-sprayed as suspects yelled \u201cGo back to your country,\u201d believes she was victimized twice: once during the attack, and then again at the San Francisco District Attorney\u2019s office, which refused to charge the incident as a hate crime.<\/p>\n

Kunni, the victim, has\u00a0a video of the incident<\/u><\/a>, which occurred during a late night shift at the bar she works in San Francisco\u2019s Tenderloin district. She has presented prosecutors with the video, along with witness statements which indicate a racially-motivated attack.<\/p>\n

But, she said, prosecutors ignored both, saying there was insufficient evidence to charge a hate crime. Kunni requested a jury trial, but, she said, the District Attorney\u2019s office discouraged her from that as well. Her attacker was arrested, but bailed out and is now free without charges. She lives in the neighborhood in which Kunni lives with her daughter, but no restraining order has been granted.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still have PTSD and panic attacks. I go to the psychiatrist every Wednesday to manage my symptoms. This feels very unfair to me. The prosecutor did not want to hear my story,\u201d said Kunni.<\/p>\n

Grandpa Vicha<\/h2>\n

At an Aug. 23\u00a0Ethnic Media Services news briefing<\/a>\u00a0focusing on the difficulty of prosecuting hate crimes, Monthanus Ratanapakdee shared a\u00a0similar story<\/u><\/a>\u00a0about her late father Vicha. On Jan. 30, 2021, the 84-year old grandfather was taking a daily walk around his San Francisco neighborhood. He was fatally pushed to the ground by suspect Antoine Watson, who then left the scene. Watson was arrested two days later, and remains in jail without bail. He has been charged with attempted murder, but no hate crime charges have been added, despite video evidence of the violent attack.<\/p>\n

Three and a half years later, no trial date has been set.<\/p>\n

Justice Delayed<\/h2>\n

Ratanapakdee has founded Justice for Vicha to honor her father, and to advocate for other victims of suspected hate crimes. The delay in justice for her father, and an inherent distrust of law enforcement, results in many people not reporting hate crimes or incidents, she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth the victim and the defendant have the right to a fair and speedy trial. That has not happened in my father\u2019s case,\u201d said Ratanapakdee.<\/p>\n

The Bias Factor<\/h2>\n

Last year, law enforcement agencies from around the state of California reported 1,970 hate crimes. Of those, just 5 went to trial, according to data from the California Attorney General\u2019s office. In 2021, the state was experiencing a wave of violent attacks against Asian Americans: just one hate case went to trial that year. Moreover, judges in California are increasingly using diversionary sentencing \u2014 behavior modification classes, counseling, or restitution to victims \u2014 which may result in no jail or prison time.<\/p>\n

Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Erin West, a 26-year veteran prosecutor, said when a case comes to her office which has potential elements of a hate crime, or if the victim believes it is a hate crime, two prosecutors review the case to determine whether hate crime charges can be added. \u201cWe take these cases very seriously, and we evaluate them very seriously,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Marsy\u2019s Law<\/h2>\n
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