Technically they did not get convicted of “murder” but this is just blatant murder, so I’ll call it for what it really is, nonwithstanding the judicial system’s decision.

Vincent Jen Chin (Chinese: 陳果仁; May 18, 1955 – June 23, 1982) was an American draftsman [A drafter is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawings or CAD designs for machinery, buildings, electronics, infrastructure, sections, etc.] of Chinese descent who was killed in a racially motivated assault by two white men, Chrysler plant supervisor Ronald Ebens and his stepson, laid-off autoworker Michael Nitz.

Ebens and Nitz assailed Chin following a brawl that took place at a strip club in Highland Park, Michigan, where Chin had been celebrating his bachelor party with friends in advance of his upcoming wedding. Against the backdrop of high anti-Japanese sentiment in the United States at the time – known as “Japan bashing” – Ebens and Nitz assumed Chin was Japanese, and a witness described them using anti-Asian racial slurs as they attacked him, ultimately beating Chin to death.

Although accounts vary, the men were expelled from the club following a physical altercation. Ebens and Nitz eventually found Chin in front of a nearby McDonald’s, where Nitz held Chin down while Ebens repeatedly bashed him with a baseball bat until Chin’s head cracked open. Chin was taken to Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, where he died of his injuries four days later. In their first trial, Ebens and Nitz accepted a plea bargain to reduce the charges from second-degree murder to manslaughter.

Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Charles Kaufman sentenced Ebens and Nitz to three years’ probation and a $3,000 fine, but no jail time.

On June 19, 1982, Chin was having a bachelor party at the Fancy Pants Club in Highland Park to celebrate his upcoming wedding with three of his friends: Jimmy Choi, Gary Koivu, and Robert Siroskey. Seated across the stage from them were two white men, Chrysler plant supervisor Ronald Ebens and his stepson, laid-off autoworker Michael Nitz. According to an interview by American documentary filmmaker Michael Moore for the Detroit Free Press, after Chin gave a white stripper a generous gratuity, Ebens shouted, “Hey, you little motherfuckers!” and told an African-American dancer, “Don’t pay any attention to those little fuckers, they wouldn’t know a good dancer if they’d seen one.” Racine Colwell, a dancer at the bar, later testified that Ebens said, “It’s because of you little motherfuckers that we’re out of work.” This statement later provided the evidence for civil rights litigation against Ebens. He later claimed the argument was not about Chin’s race but the Black dancer’s gratuity. Another witness said he heard the anti-Chinese racial slur “Chink” being used towards Chin, while another man said Ebens told him “I’ll give you $20 if you help us catch the Chinaman.”

Ebens claimed that Chin walked over to him and Nitz and threw a punch at his jaw. The fight escalated as Nitz shoved Chin in defense of his stepfather, and Chin countered. One of the dancers reported that Ebens and Chin picked up chairs and started swinging them at each other. Nitz suffered a cut on his head from a chair that Ebens had intended to use to strike Chin. Chin and his friends left the room, while a bouncer led Ebens and Nitz to the restroom to clean up the wound. According to Ebens and Nitz, one of Chin’s friends, Robert Siroskey, came back inside to use the restroom and apologized to the group, stating that Chin had a few drinks due to his bachelor’s party. Ebens and Nitz had also been drinking that night, although not at the club, which did not serve alcohol.

When Ebens and Nitz left the club, they encountered Chin and his friends who were waiting outside for Siroskey. Chin called Ebens a “chicken shit”, at which point Nitz retrieved a baseball bat from his car and Chin and his friends ran down the street. Ebens and Nitz searched the neighborhood for 20 to 30 minutes and paid another man 20 dollars to help look for Chin, before finding him at a nearby McDonald’s restaurant. Chin attempted to escape, but was held by Nitz while Ebens repeatedly bludgeoned Chin with a baseball bat until Chin’s head cracked open. Ebens was arrested and taken into custody at the scene of the crime by two off-duty police officers who had witnessed the beating. One of the officers said that Ebens wielded the bat like he was swinging “for a home run”. Michael Gardenhire, one of the police officers, called for an ambulance. Chin was rushed to Henry Ford Hospital and was comatose on arrival. He never regained consciousness and died four days later on June 23, 1982; Chin was only 27 years old.

Ebens and Nitz were charged with second-degree murder, but accepted a plea bargain to reduce the charges to manslaughter. They were sentenced by Wayne County Circuit Judge Charles Kaufman to three years’ probation and were each ordered to pay a $3,000 fine plus $780 in court costs, but received no jail time.

The lenient sentencing of Ebens and Nitz enraged the Asian-American communities in the Detroit area and across the United States, who saw it as a sign of public indifference toward racism directed at Asian-Americans. The president of the Detroit Chinese Welfare Council said the verdict amounted to a “$3,000 license to kill” Chinese Americans.

Whenever people say “good ol’ days”, this is the shit they’re talking about. So fucked up.

Vincent Jen Chin was born on May 18, 1955, in Guangdong province, Mainland China.

Holy shit that’s where I was born, this hits so close to home, as I’m am also Chinese American, I felt this as if I were in his shoes. I have faced similar (albeit its less intense nowadays) racism throughout my childhood/teenhood in the US. With the political atmosphere we have in 2025, I fear this is gonna become commonplace again.