A federal appeals court has ruled that Suffolk County prosecutors did not violate a Long Island man’s rights when they showed jurors photos of his tattoos of a swastika and other hate symbols.
Christopher Slavin is serving a 25-years-to life prison sentence for his conviction of the attempted murder of two Mexican day laborers in September 2000. An attorney for the 39-year-old man argued last week that when prosecutors showed the photos at trial they violated Slavin’s Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan denied the attempt to have the conviction overturned and reaffirmed the lower court’s decision.
Slavin and Ryan Wagner were convicted of luring the men into an abandoned building where they attacked them with a post-hole digger and a knife. The victims, Magdaleno Estrada and Israel Perez, were seriously injured in what was the first of a series of high-profile hate crimes in Suffolk County.
Wagner is serving a 15-year prison term.
District Attorney Tom Spota praised the ruling. Slavin’s attorney reportedly plans to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
