Conviction in hate crime case called ‘vindication’

Khalid Jabara, killed by Stanley Majors.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) – An Oklahoma prosecutor says a murder and hate crime conviction in the fatal shooting of a Lebanese man is “vindication” for the victim’s family.

Jurors on Wednesday found 63-year-old Stanley Vernon Majors guilty in the shooting death of 37-year-old Khalid Jabara outside his Tulsa home.

Prosecutors alleged Majors killed Jabara after bombarding him with racial insults in a feud with Jabara’s family that lasted several years. Majors’ attorneys claimed he was insane.

Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler says the case also “exposed an ugly but real segment of the population whose prejudice oftentimes dictates their actions toward other human beings.”

Kunzweiler called on state lawmakers to stiffen the penalty for committing a hate crime, which is a misdemeanor in Oklahoma.