Mulugeta Seraw

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Mulugeta Seraw
Mulugeta Seraw

Mulugeta Seraw (October 21, 1960 in Debre Tabor - November 13, 1988 was an Ethiopian student and father who went to the United States to attend college. Seraw was killed in October 1988, at age 28, in Portland, Oregon by three racist skinheads. His father and son successfully filed a civil lawsuit against the killers and an affiliated organization, holding them liable for the murder.

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[edit] Background

On the night of November 12, 1988, Ken "Death" Mieske, Kyle Brewster and Steve Strasser, members of a group known as East Side White Pride and White Aryan Resistance (WAR), were driving around Portland with their girlfriends, headed home. The three confronted two black men, including Seraw, who had just been dropped off in front of his apartment.[1] Subsequently, Seraw was beaten to death with a baseball bat on Southeast 31st Avenue.[2] The skinheads and their girlfriends left Seraw in a puddle of his own blood. He died in the early-morning hours of the following day. Mieske said he and the two others killed Mr. Seraw "because of his race."[3] In response, hundreds of people turned out for rallies against racism.[4] Meanwhile Tom Metzger, head of WAR, said the skinheads did a "civic duty" by killing Seraw.[5]

After one week of investigation, Mieske, Brewster and Strasser were arrested. In 1990, Mieske was convicted of first-degree murder; he will not be eligible for parole until 2018.[6] Brewster and Strasser were convicted of manslaughter and assault. Brewster was released in November 2002, but in 2006 violated parole and was sent back to prison.[7]

In October 1990, Seraw's father and son, represented at no cost by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League, won a civil case against White Aryan Resistance's operator Tom Metzger and his son John Metzger for a total of $12.5 million.[8] [9] The cost of trial, in the hundreds of thousands of dollars[10] was absorbed by the SPLC and the ADL.[11] Metzger being unable to cover the damages, the Seraws' lawyer decided to file legal documents in order to have his Fallbrook, California home and his assets seized.[12] As a result, the house was transferred to Seraw's estate for a value of $121,500; Metzger was allowed to keep $45,000 under California's Homestead Act.[13] Metzger was warned that any damage caused to the house would result in a lawsuit; he still left it "a mess" with cracked windows, but without serious damage.[13] The Metzgers declared bankruptcy and WAR went out of business. Metzger himself was forced to move into an apartment and collect welfare. He still makes payments to Seraw's family.[14]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Three Are Charged in Attack Attributed to Neo-Nazi Gang", New York Times, November 21, 1988. Retrieved on 2007-09-18. 
  2. ^ "Lawyer makes racists pay", USA Today, October 24, 1990. Retrieved on 2007-09-18. 
  3. ^ "Guilt Admitted in Racial Killing", New York Times, May 3, 1989. Retrieved on 2007-11-18. 
  4. ^ Jeff, Baker (August 31, 2003). Our home-grown Hitlers. The Oregonian. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
  5. ^ "Making War on WAR", Time, October 22, 1990. Retrieved on 2007-09-18. 
  6. ^ "Ten Who Terrify: Kenneth Mieske, 41", Southern Poverty Law Center, Fall 2006. Retrieved on 2007-09-18. 
  7. ^ Herzog, Boaz, "Man in Infamous Hate-Crime Killing Arrested on Violation of Parole Terms", The Oregonian, May 20, 2006
  8. ^ The jury divided the judgement against the defendants as follows: Kyle Brewster, $500,000; Ken Mieske, $500,000;, John Metzger, $1 million; WAR, $3 million; Tom Metzger, $5 million; in addition, the jury awarded $2.5 million for Mulugeta's unrealized future earnings and pain and suffering.
  9. ^ "Sending a $12.5 Million Message to a Hate Group", New York Times, October 26, 1990. Retrieved on 2007-09-18. 
  10. ^ Morris Dees and Steve Fiffer. Hate on Trial: The Case Against America's Most Dangerous Neo-Nazi. Villard Books, 1993. page 116
  11. ^ Morris Dees and Steve Fiffer. Hate on Trial: The Case Against America's Most Dangerous Neo-Nazi. Villard Books, 1993. page 277
  12. ^ "Assets of White Supremacist Are Target of Legal Maneuver", New York Times, December 25, 1990. Retrieved on 2007-09-18. 
  13. ^ a b "Metzger Leaves Former Home a Mess, but It's Undamaged", The Oregonian, Sept 19, 1991. Retrieved on 2007-09-18.  page f3
  14. ^ "Hate-crime case award will be hard to collect, experts say", The Press-Enterprise, August 24, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-08-25. 

[edit] Further reading

  • Morris Dees. Hate on Trial: The Case Against America's Most Dangerous Neo-Nazi. Villard, (February 23, 1993) ISBN 067940614X (280 pages)

[edit] External links