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Christine Quinn Speaks Out About Brooklyn Hate Crime

Posted by: Natasia Rose on June 29, 2010.

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06/29/2010- by Natasia Langfelder

In 2008, Jose Sucuzhanay was attacked and murdered while walking home with his brother in Brooklyn. His attackers screamed both anti-gay and anti-latino slurs at him while they brutally killed him. Yesterday, murderer Keith Phoenix was convicted of murder as a hate crime.

City Council Speaker and LGBT rights advocate Christine Quinn released a compassionate and passionate statement this morning about the verdict.

“No verdict will ever bring peace to the family and friends of Jose Sucuzhanay. However, last night we received justice in the form of a guilty verdict of murder as a hate crime against Keith Phoenix.

On December 8, 2008, Keith Phoenix, along with fellow defendant Hakim Scott, brutally attacked and murdered Jose Sucuzhanay as he walked home with his brother. The two perpetrators committed their acts of unprovoked violence with a broken bottle and metal baseball bat while shouting ant-gay and anti-Latino epithets.

I am grateful that this senseless and tragic crime has been unequivocally condemned, sending the message that New Yorkers will not stand for such hatred and inhumanity in our communities. I want to thank the members of the jury, the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force, and the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office for their attention and diligent, focused work on this case.”