Earlier this week, Jeffrey Conroy, convicted this April of first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime in the killing of Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero, received the maximum sentence of 25 years in prison this afternoon at criminal court in Riverhead, N.Y.

I have written numerous times about the horror that happened against Lucero and how it is indicative of a growing anti-Latino sentiment in the United States, that now is slowly becoming legalized through laws like Arizona’s recently passed SB1070.

Reading the coverage of the sentencing, I was struck by those who defended the actions of Conroy including his own father who was enraged after the sentencing and yelled out tha t his son was only 17 when he stabbed the Ecuadorian immigrant during a “Mexican hunting” trek in Long Island.

If the tables were turned, as it often is, with a young Latino sentenced to 25 years for killing a white man, would people be so sympathetic to the perp’s age or would they lament that the court couldn’t use the death penalty.

Note also how those who defend Conroy pull the “Latino friend” card, trumped only by the “Latina fiance” card.
From the NY Times:

The defense lawyer, William Keahon, read aloud several of the nearly 100 letters that had been sent to the court from Mr. Conroy’s supporters — coaches, neighbors, and adult and teenage friends who asked for leniency. The letters described Mr. Conroy not as hate filled, but as someone who served as a volunteer mentor and coach to football and lacrosse players.

The letters also noted how Mr. Conroy had numerous Hispanic friends, including the woman he has said he plans to marry, Pamela Suarez, who is Bolivian.

Lucero’s mother, said through a translator that she forgave Conroy and would pray for him.