I'm surprised that no one has been talking about this. The brutality of the crime is absolutely horrible and some of my relatives in Puerto Rico have said that it has really been a big story down there.

19 year old Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado was found on Friday November 13, 2009 decapitated, dismembered and partially burned. His death is being treated as a hate crime and has sparked outrage in Puerto Rico. Shortly after his death there were vigils held in some places here in the states. What has outraged me now is that the guy went for the gay panic defense (claiming that Jorge was dressed as a woman and that this guy thought he was a woman when he picked him up for sex), and has now been found mentally incompetent and unfit to stand trial after a court ordered psychiatric evaluation.

Here are various articles detailing the case. Credit to Rod 2.0 for staying on top of this horrific story.

Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado Murder

Here is an update on another brutal slaying of a gay teen in Baltimore.

Indictment in murder of Baltimore gay teen

I have been exchanging emails with a friend of mine who was present at the vigil in Puerto Rico. One of the good things that has come out of this horrific murder is that homophobia is finally being talked about openly in Puerto Rico. There is an ad running on TV denouncing homophobia and hate crimes. I am more than happy that this is happening. It's almost miraculous.

http://www.youtube.com/user/toleranciapr

The weekend after the incident, I watched these YouTube videos of a vigil in New York City.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Obviously, this is not the first time a gay person has been murdered in Puerto Rico (in the 90's, two policemen shot to death a gay man and absolutely nothing was done about it), but this is definitely one of the most atrocious murders that has ever happened on the island, to anyone.

Major props to activist Pedro Julio Serrano for fighting the good fight for more than a decade and putting himself on the line for GLBT people in PR.

A big part of the problem of course is the fact that the crime happened in a Latin country. Sadly, too many Latino men (& women) still have issues with glbt people & where machismo is still the name of the game. @ least it's getting coverage both in PR & outside of the island.

Gawd, I can't imagine decapitating, dismembering, & then burning the body of a human being. Matos is one sick f**k!