The man convicted in the fatal 2021 attack of an older Thai man in San Francisco will be able to avoid prison time, a judge ruled on Thursday. Antoine Watson, 25, was sentenced to eight years for manslaughter in the death of Vicha Ratanapakdee, 84. But, having already spent five years in jail awaiting trial, Watson received credit for time served, and San Francisco Superior Court Judge Linda Colfax said he could make the last three years vanish by following probation rules, per the AP. In a statement shared by Justice for Vicha, the foundation named for her dad, Ratanapakdee's daughter, Monthanus, expressed her family's disappointment.
"We respect the court process. However, this is not about revenge—it is about accountability," she said. "When consequences do not reflect the seriousness of the harm, it raises concerns about how we protect our seniors and public safety." Vicha Ratanapakdee was out for his usual morning walk in the quiet neighborhood he lived in with his wife, daughter, and her family when Watson charged at him and knocked him to the ground. Ratanapakdee never regained consciousness and died two days later. Watson testified on the stand that he was in a haze of confusion and anger at the time of the unprovoked attack, according to KRON-TV.
He said he lashed out and didn't know that Ratanapakdee was Asian or older. San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju, whose office defended Watson, also said at his trial that the defendant is "fully remorseful for his mistake." Footage of the attack was captured on a neighbor's security camera and spread across social media, prompting a surge in activism over a rise in anti-Asian crimes driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. Hundreds of people across several US cities commemorated the anniversary of Ratanapakdee's death in 2022, seeking justice for Asian Americans who've been harassed, assaulted, and even killed in alarming numbers.
Asians in America have long been subject to prejudice and discrimination, but the attacks escalated sharply after COVID-19 first appeared in late 2019 in Wuhan, China. More than 10,000 hate incidents against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders were reported to the Stop AAPI Hate coalition from March 2020 through September 2021. While the Ratanapakdee family asserts he was attacked because of his race, hate crime charges weren't filed and the argument wasn't raised in trial. Prosecutors have said hate crimes are difficult to prove, absent statements by the suspect. (This piece asks if justice was denied for "Grandpa Vicha.")
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
