san francisco — A 24-year-old man has been found guilty of manslaughter in the death of an elderly Thai man whose 2021 killing in San Francisco helped spark a national movement against anti-Asian American violence.
A jury did not find Antoine Watson guilty of murder when it returned a verdict Thursday in the January 2021 attack on 84-year-old Visha Ratanapakdee. Jurors found Watson guilty of lesser charges of manslaughter and assault.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins’ office declined to comment, saying the jury was still being seated. Jurors will return on Jan. 26 to hear arguments on aggravating factors, and a verdict will be scheduled once that is completed, the office said in an email.
Visha Ratanapakdee was out for his usual morning walk in the quiet neighborhood where he lives with his wife, daughter and her family when Watson attacked him and knocked him to the ground. The encounter was captured on a neighbor’s security camera. Ratanpakdi died two days later, never regaining consciousness.
His family says he was attacked because of his race, but no hate crime charges were brought and the argument was not raised at trial. Prosecutors said hate crimes are difficult to prove in the absence of a suspect’s statements.
Watson testified on the stand that he was in a state of confusion and anger at the time of the unprovoked attack, according to his deposition. To Kron TV. He said he lashed out and did not know Ratanapakdee was Asian or elderly.
San Francisco Public Defender Manu Raju, whose office defended Watson, expressed sympathy for the victim’s family and said the defendant was “completely remorseful for his mistake.”
“Although this death was a terrible tragedy and received a lot of press attention, the importance of our legal system is that it gives us an opportunity to look at the facts in a balanced way,” he said in a statement.
They were joined by hundreds of people in five other US cities Commemoration After Ratanapakdee’s death in 2022, they are all seeking justice for Asian Americans who have been harassed, assaulted and even murdered in alarming numbers since the start of the pandemic.
Asians in America have long been subject to prejudice and discrimination, however Attacks escalated sharply After the Corona virus first appeared in late 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan. More than 10,000 hate incidents against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have been reported Stop the AAPI Hate Coalition From March 2020 to September 2021.
Incidents included ostracism, racial taunts and physical attacks.