Wednesday, March 4, 2009

International Outrage Over Hate Crime Acquittal In Spain

Outrage over a grisly hate crime and the eventual acquittal of its perpetrator has spread from Spain to the United States. Jacobo Piñeiro Rial, who was picked up at a gay bar in Vigo, Spain, and spent the night with a gay couple, eventually killed his two hosts and set fire to the apartment to cover his crime. To the shock of many, he was acquitted by a jury by resorting to what some are calling the "new twinkie defense".

During the trial, testimony revealed that Piñiero had spent the afternoon consuming cocaine and drinking at a gay bar called Strong, at which Pérez Triviñio happened to work as a bartender. When his shift ended, the bartender invited Piñeiro home. They spent the afternoon together until Triviñio's partner Anderson Luciano arrived around. Although there there are no independent witnesses, police and forensic experts have concluded that the murder rampage began around 4:00 am. Pérez Triviñio was first stabbed by Piñeiro but did not die. Piñeiro then stabbed Anderson Luciano twice while in the couples' room, and 22 more times as he followed his victim out of the room, into a corridor and then into the living room - where he died.

Pérez Triviñio, in the meantime, had locked himself in the room and records show that he was able to call local authorities. The call was cut short when Piñeiro was able to break back into the room and finish him off by stabbing him 35 more times.

After going back to the living room, Piñeiro tied Luciano's hands and put a blanket over his body; in the bedroom, he placed a blanket over Triviñio's head, tied a cable around it, and tethered it to a bed post. Piñeiro then threw clothes all over the apartment, doused them with alcohol and set on apartment on fire.

So how did Piñeiro convince the jury to let him off the hook for murder? In a statement to the jury, he said that in the middle of the night "the gays" solicited him for sex and he was totally freaked out. Because he was able to avoid cross examination by the prosecutor, he avoided having to explain why he was hanging out in a gay bar and agreed to go home with a gay man.

In a story riddled by inconsistencies, he claimed that he had slept in a guest bedroom, and was awakened late at night by a naked Luciano, who invited him over for sex. He says that he was 'disgusted' by the sexual advances and rejected them, only to be threatened with a knife. Piñeiro says that he 'panicked' and successfully wrestled the knife away from his assailant - and used it to 'defend' himself. He also claimed that Triviñio came to his partner's defense brandishing a second knife, which he also stripped away and used in self defense.

Piñeiro's lawyer resorted to a form of "gay panic" defense, arguing that Piñeiro was overcome by an "insurmountable fear of being raped and being murdered" and that his judgment was clouded by the alcohol and cocaine he had consumed in the previous two days. However, forensic experts had stated earlier said the effect of the cocaine would have rubbed off long before the killings and upon arrest there were no traces of alcohol in his body. Piñeiro was found not guilty of the double murder, and convicted only of arson.

Marta Pérez Triviñio, Isaac's mother, was heartbroken over the acquittal on murder charges, saying that the jury's verdict was "homophobic, racist and brainless". A small demonstration was held in Vigo the night after the verdict. Larger demonstrations are planned for Madrid, Barcelona and New York City on March 7th. A Facebook page which has been set up protesting the verdict already has nearly 13,000 members. More details on this story can be found here.

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