By Gustavo Martinez Contreras
LatinaLista
Posted on October 6, 2010
SCRANTON, PA — When opening statements begin at 1:45 p.m. today, there will finally be a jury seated in the federal trial of the two Shenandoah, Pa., men charged with a federal hate crime for the beating death of an undocumented Mexican immigrant in 2008.
“I will give an initial instruction, then openings (statements) will take place and the jury will start listening to testimony,” Judge Richard A. Caputo said.
The William J. Nealon Federal Building & U.S. Courthouse in Scranton, the site of the federal hate crime trial for the beating death of Luis Ramirez.
After more than two hours of proceedings, both sides defined who out of the 46 prospective jurors will be in the jury.
It remains uncertain what is the jury’s composition. The pool of prospective jurors came from the Pennsylvania Middle District, region that includes 33 counties north and west of the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area.
Derrick M. Donchak, 20, and Brandon J. Piekarsky, 18, face life in prison if found guilty of the federal hate crime charge stemming from the beating that took the life of Luis Eduardo RamÃrez Zavala in July 2008.
(Editor’s Note: Follow updates during the trial on Twitter, #luisramirez)
