7.07.2008

man gets life in prison for contract killing

Eight years ago, Chiman Rai paid Mississippi hitmen $10,000 to choke and stab his daughter-in law to death in her apartment while her seven-month-old daughter was nearby. Why? 22-year-old Sparkle Michelle Rai married his son, Rajeeve "Ricky" Rai, who is Indian. And she was black: India native accused in death of son's black wife. It's pretty damn appalling.

Just a month after the couple were married, a contract killer showed up at their door and viciously murdered Sparkle. She was stabbed at least 13 times in the back, neck, chest and ribs. She was strangled and her throat slit. Savagely murdered, because Chiman Rai apparently didn't approve of his son marrying a black woman. Sick.

Last month, Rai was sentenced to life in prison without parole for ordering the hit: Jury chooses life without parole in contract killing. Prosecutors had been seeking the death penalty. This was indeed a hate crime, and Rai now has the rest of his life to rot in his cell and think about what he's done.

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