Guilty of 'race hate' killing

2003-10-01 12:50

Mesa, Arizona - A man was convicted of murder in the slaying of a Sikh who prosecutors said was gunned down four days after the September 11 attacks because he was mistaken for an Arab.

The jury, which handed down the decision on Tuesday, rejected Frank Silva Roque's insanity claim. Roque, 44, could get the death penalty.

He was also found guilty of attempted murder, drive-by shooting and endangerment for two more racially motivated attacks.

Roque fatally shot Indian immigrant Balbir Singh Sodhi in front of the petrol station he owned on September 15, 2001.

After killing Sodhi, Roque shot at another petrol station, where the clerk was a man of Lebanese descent, and shot at the home of an Afghan family. No one else was hurt.

'Reactive psychosis'

Roque's attorneys argued that Roque was insane at the time of the shooting and that the crime was not racially motivated. A defence psychiatrist said Roque suffered from reactive psychosis and depression and could not tell right from wrong.

But prosecutor Vince Imbordino said Roque was motivated by anger and hatred following the terrorist attacks, not insanity. He noted that Roque had practiced shooting and reloading before killing Sodhi.

A court-appointed psychiatrist testified that Roque probably did hear voices but could understand the wrongfulness of his actions.

Sodhi's brother said the verdict sends a message about hate crimes.

"America wants justice," Lakhwinder Singh Sodhi said. "We showed the world we can't have hate crimes in our community."

Roque's attorney did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

- AP