The Puerto Rico Department of Justice will investigate the murder of Jorge Steven López Mercado as a hate crime, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

The ACLU of Puerto Rico said on Wednesday that the department will also work with the ACLU to train judges and prosecutors on hate-crimes procedure. The department had previously said it would not prosecute the murder as a hate crime.

According to the organization, the island commonwealth has had sentencing guidelines allowing for hate-crime charges since 2002, but a hate-crime
investigation has never been waged.

Mercado's body was found decapitated and partially burned alongside a road in central Puerto Rico November 13. A suspect, Juan Martinez Matos, has been charged with first-degree murder and several other counts, including weapons violations.