LETTER TO NEW HAMPSHIRE ATTORNEY GENERAL

July 25, 2001

The Honorable Philip T. McLaughlin
New Hampshire Attorney General
33 Capital St.
Concord, NH 03301

Dear Attorney General McLaughlin:

We, the undersigned Asian Pacific American and Laotian American groups of New England, are writing to urge that you prosecute the brutal killing of Thung Phetakoune as both a murder and a hate crime. We believe it is important that you do not ignore the hate crime aspect of Richard Labbe’s murder of Mr. Phetakoune.

Labbe's vicious assault on Mr. Phetakoune, an elderly man nearly half his size, deserves nothing less than prosecution as murder. Furthermore, this murder was more than an isolated incident. It was a racist and bigoted attack that needs to be prosecuted as a hate crime.

News reports of Labbe's statements to both police and witnesses clearly show his attack on Mr. Phetakoune was racially-motivated. According to these reports, Labbe made the following racist remarks such as saying to police: "What's going on is that those Asians killed Americans and you won't do anything about it so I will. Call it payback." Labbe's own son is reported to have heard him say "So you like to kill Americans, why don't you try to kill me?" If remarks like this do not prove a hate crime, then nothing can.

A hate crime such as the killing of Mr. Phetakoune affects more than just the victim and his family - it represents an attack against an entire community. The intentional murder of an individual just because of his race and ethnic background threatens all Asian Pacific Americans in New England.

Hate crimes against Asian Pacific Americans are a significant and growing problem in this country. A recent report shows that attacks on Asian Pacific Americans increased 13% from 1998 to 1999 in this country, despite a decline in nationwide violent crime rates. During 1999, there were four brutal racially-motivated murders of Asian Pacific American victims.

In fact, Labbe's racist remarks demonstrate why hate crimes against Asian Pacific Americans continue to be a growing problem: it is due to the perception that we are "foreigners" and "enemy aliens," even if we are native-born Americans or fought as allies of the US. Labbe's crime must be punished as a hate crime, because it so much represents the bigotry that victimizes Asian Pacific Americans and makes us targets of hate violence.

Thank you for your attention and consideration. If you wish to discuss this matter, please contact Phitsamay Sychitkokhong.

Sincerely,