Hate Murder in Arizona?

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer had just signed SB 1070; 44-year-old U.S. citizen, Juan Varela,  was watering chile plants in his front yard when a neighbor shot him to death. The defeandant has been charged with a hate crime.  For analysis of whether it was a hate crime or not, click here for the L.A. Times story. to police documents.

Unfortunately, hate crimes against Latinos long have been linked to anti-immigrant rhetoric — and few could deny that Arizona has seen much of that kind of rhetoric in the last few months. Marcelo Lucero and Luis Ramirez (Shenandoah, PA)  are two extreme examples from recent memory.

KJ