I wish that were true. If any of the real victims had capped the perps the media would be in a frenzy that it was a racially-motivated hate crime. Jesse and Al would be flying in to organize protests and we'd all be reminded daily of how institutional racism is to blame.
On an only slightly less cynical note, I'd be happy if the verdict really did put these guys away for life, but given the propensity of our enlightened court system to release this sort of prisoner so they can pack a couple of dope-smokers into that cell, I don't have a real warm and fuzzy feeling. I think that the death penalty should be rare and well-publicized, but I'd volunteer to push the lever on this pair.