Ecuadorean immigrant's killers sentenced to 37 years

Two men convicted of beating an Ecuadorean immigrant to death after mistaking him and his brother for a gay couple were sentenced to the maximum Thursday.

Keith Phoenix was convicted of murder as a hate crime in the December 2008 death of Jose Sucuzhanay and sentenced to 37 years to life in prison. His co-defendant, Hakim Scott, was convicted of manslaughter but acquitted of a more serious murder charge. He was sentenced to 37 years in prison.

Both men were also convicted of attempted assault of Jose's brother Romel. The victim's mother, Julia Quituna, traveled from Cuenca, Ecuador, and sat in the courtroom with three of her surviving 11 children. Romel Sucuzhanay and Quituna spoke through a Spanish interpreter, saying their lives were forever altered.

Scott and Phoenix were remorseful at the hearing, apologizing to their families and to the Sucuzhanays and reiterating their belief that the case was about a fight that escalated, not a premeditated attack.

"I want to offer my deepest, humblest apology for the outcome of that night," Phoenix said. "I swear to God that is not what I intended to happen." Scott said he was raised in a family with morals and begged Judge Patricia DiMango to give him a second chance. "Not a day goes by when my heart does not hurt," he said.

DiMango was not swayed. She told Phoenix it was "beyond the comprehension of any civilized person" that someone motivated "by the sport of it could take another human being's life in such a cruel and violent manner." The judge called Scott the first physical catalyst because he got out of a car that night in Brooklyn and broke a bottle over Jose Sucuzhanay's head.