It took a Brooklyn jury only seven hours last night to convict a man for murder as a hate crime in the savage beating of an Ecuadorian immigrant.
Keith Phoenix’s first trial ended in a hung jury in May after one juror held out for a manslaughter conviction, while the other 11 believed he was guilty of murder.
No jurors at that trial considered it a hate crime.
The heinous attack occurred in the early-morning hours of Dec. 7, 2008, as José Sucuzahay and his brother, Romel, walked home.
Phoenix, 30, noticed the men walking arm-in-arm to keep warm and shouted anti-gay and anti-Hispanic slurs at the two. He then repeatedly bludgeoned José with a baseball bat.