Ronald Ebens

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Ronald Ebens was a former auto worker in Detroit who, along with his stepson Michael Nitz, killed Chinese American Vincent Chin in 1982, just two days before Chin's wedding day^[1]. The killing of Vincent Chin, and the subsequent failure of the justice system in punishing his killers, sparked national outrage and galvanized the Asian American community to become more active in protecting civil rights and fighting racial violence.

In killing Chin, by striking him repeatedly with a baseball bat while Nitz held Chin, Ebens stated, "It's because of you little motherfuckers that we're out of work,"^[2] referring to the Japanese auto industry, as Ebens had recently been laid off due to the struggling industry in Detroit. Chin was Chinese American, and not of Japanese ancestry.

Ebens did not serve any jail time. Rather, Michigan state court judge Charles Kaufman fined Ebens and Nitz $3000 and gave them probation, a sentence that many Asian American community leaders perceived as a slap on the wrist. Notably, Judge Kaufman had served time as a POW (prisoner of war) in Japanese prison camps during World War II. Despite the opportunity to reconsider his sentencing, Judge Kaufman refused to do so. Judge Kaufman passed away in 2004^[3].

Two federal lawsuits followed. In the first, a federal criminal suit, Ebens and Nitz were found guilty of violating Chin's civil rights and Ebens was sentenced to 25 years in prison, however, the conviction was overturned on a procedural error. In the second federal suit, a civil suit brought by Chin's mother, Lily Chin, Ebens and Nitz settled out of court in 1987 and agreed to pay $1.5 million, but Ebens transferred his assets to his wife and fled after making only some or no payments. As of 2006, he would be about 67 years old. Nitz reportedly did make payments pursuant to the settlement.