{"id":32854,"date":"2022-06-17T02:46:49","date_gmt":"2022-06-17T02:46:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/?p=32854"},"modified":"2022-06-17T02:46:49","modified_gmt":"2022-06-17T02:46:49","slug":"how-the-killing-of-vincent-chin-exposed-the-weaknesses-of-michigans-criminal-justice-system-wdet-101-9-fm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/2022\/06\/17\/how-the-killing-of-vincent-chin-exposed-the-weaknesses-of-michigans-criminal-justice-system-wdet-101-9-fm\/","title":{"rendered":"How the killing of Vincent Chin exposed the weaknesses of Michigan\u2019s criminal justice system \u00bb WDET 101.9 FM"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n Russ McNamara<\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n

This week marks the 40th<\/sup> anniversary of the murder of Vincent Chin in Highland Park. In a racist attack, Chin was beaten to death by two men who blamed the Chinese American man for a loss of automotive jobs.<\/p>\n

Ronald Ebens and Michael Nitz were convicted of manslaughter for Chin\u2019s death but sentenced only to probation.<\/p>\n

Roland Hwang is the president of the Asian American civil rights group American Citizens for Justice<\/a>. He says this case spurred activism for the Asian American community and changes to how convicted criminals are sentenced in Michigan.<\/p>\n

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President of American Citizens for Justice Roland Hwang<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI think that one of the important elements of Vincent Chin case was that there was no presence by the prosecutor\u2019s office at the time of sentencing,\u201d Hwang says. \u201cBack in 1982, the prosecutor\u2019s office didn\u2019t make it a practice to appear and treat the sentencing process as part of the criminal process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since then they\u2019ve met with Wayne County prosecutors who pledged that the assistant prosecutors from that point on would appear at sentencing. Hwang says that levels \u201cthe playing field in terms of getting recognition of the victims family\u2019s point of view.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michigan Third Circuit Court Judge Charles Kaufman notoriously said of Chin\u2019s killers<\/a>: \u201cThese weren\u2019t the kind of men you send to jail. You don\u2019t make the punishment fit the crime, you make the punishment fit the criminal.\u201d Hwang says at the time of Chin\u2019s case there was no mandatory minimum sentencing.<\/p>\n

\u201cJudges had wide latitude, I think, in terms of what the sentence could be,\u201d Hwang says. \u201cAnd Judge Kauffman gave that ruling of three years\u2019 probation and $3,000 fine for the killing of Vincent Chin, which was what led to the outrage in the Asian American community. After that, and partly, as a result of the Vincent Chin case, the Michigan Supreme Court promulgated a mandatory minimum sentencing guideline, so the judge would have to articulate the reason if he or she was going to set a sentence that was different than the mandatory minimum.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hate crimes<\/a> directed toward Asian Americans since the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic has soared. Hwang says there are groups pushing for change.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that there are people who view the invisibility of the Asian American community in U.S. history classes and part of the K-12 curriculum,\u201d Hwang says. \u201cThey are trying to affect change by supporting legislation that would call for enhanced presence for Asian American experience to be in U.S. history textbooks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Listen: Roland Hwang on the impact of the Vincent Chin case on the legal system.<\/h2>\n

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\nhttps:\/\/wdet.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/MCNAMARA-ATC-HWANG-2-WAY.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/p>\n

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