Everything about Yusef Hawkins totally explained
Yusef Hawkins (also spelled as
Yusuf Hawkins) was a 16-year-old
African American youth who was shot to death on
August 23,
1989 in
Bensonhurst, a heavily
Italian-American neighborhood in the
New York City borough of
Brooklyn. Hawkins and three friends were confronted there by a crowd of 10 to 30 white youths, mostly Italians, and at least seven of them wielding baseball bats. One, armed with a handgun, shot Hawkins twice in the chest, killing him.
Hawkins had gone to Bensonhurst that night with his three friends to inquire about a used 1982 Pontiac automobile that was for sale. The group's attackers had been lying in wait for Black or Hispanic youths they believed were dating a white neighborhood girl. Police later said Hawkins wasn't involved with the girl.. The acquittal of Mondello on these serious charges led to further protest marches through Bensonhurst led by
Al Sharpton.
Sentencing
On
June 11,
1990 sentences were handed down in the Hawkins case. 19-year old Fama received a sentence of 32 and 1/3 years in prison. Mondello, also 19, received a sentence of 5 1/3 to 16 years in prison.
Other defendants
Other members of the gang that chased and beat Hawkins were tried as well. John Vento was convicted of unlawful imprisonment and received a sentence of 2 to 8 years in August, 1990 and was released in 1998. A fourth man, Joseph Serrano, was convicted on the charge of unlawfully possessing a weapon and sentenced to 300 hours of
community service on
January 11,
1991. The acquittal of Vento on a murder charge, and the light sentence handed out to Serrano sparked more protests by the
African-American community in Bensonhurst. Before that march was set to begin, on
January 12,
1991 Al Sharpton was stabbed and seriously wounded by
Michael Riccardi in a
Bensonhurst schoolyard. Sharpton later recovered from his wounds.
Release of Mondello
After serving eight years in
Attica Correctional Facility, Keith Mondello was released on
June 2,
1998, to the dismay of the Hawkins family. On
January 22,
1999 Mondello and Hawkins' father, Moses Stewart met in a
NY1 television studio, where Mondello apologized for his role in the killing. Stewart died at the age of 48 in 2003. Fama isn't eligible for parole until 2022 when he'll be a little over 50 years old.
Memorials
- Spike Lee's film Jungle Fever is dedicated to the memory of Hawkins, and Hawkins' photograph appears at the beginning of the film.
- A faded mural painted soon after Hawkins' death is still visible on the side of a building on Verona Place in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Yusef Hawkins'.
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