Vincent Pickney was sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison for three knife attacks that left a 30-year-old Columbia University graduate student dead and two other men wounded in Upper Manhattan. The sentence was announced Friday.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg
announced the sentencing, saying Pickney murdered Davide Giri and carried out three attacks in Upper Manhattan. Giri, a teaching assistant and graduate student at Columbia, was attacked as he walked home from a late-night soccer practice, according to
nydailynews.com
Pickney stabbed Giri, who was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
Attacks Across Upper Manhattan
Pickney also stabbed a second man.
Pickney carried out two other attacks in Upper Manhattan.
Prior Record
Pickney was on probation for a gang attack.
New York's penal code, cited by the New York State Senate, defines second-degree murder as causing a person's death with intent to cause that death. The New York State Unified Court System labels that statute “Murder in the Second Degree (Intentional Homicide)” in its jury instructions.
Prosecutors and Police Credited in Case
The prosecution was handled by Molly Presant of the Manhattan DA's office, with Nicole Blumberg and Lisa Delpizzo supervising and Danielle Turcotte and Alec Simon providing assistance, according to the announcement. Bragg also thanked the New York City Police Department, noting that officers from the 26th and 24th precincts were involved in the response and arrest.
Giri was 30 at the time of his death. Pickney was sentenced Friday.
