Man gets 25 years for manslaughter

| 13 Sep 2017 | 05:53

A frequent chess player in Union Square, pictured above, was sentenced this week to 25 years in prison following his conviction on manslaughter charges for punching a man in the park four years ago. The man later died of his injuries. Photo: paul.wasneski, via flickr

A frequent chess player in Union Square was sentenced Tuesday to 25 years in state prison after acting on his threat to punch the next white person he saw and killing a 62-year-old passer-by.

Lashawn Marten, who is black, was found guilty of first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime, assault and attempted assault, on July 5 by a New York Supreme Court jury.

On Sept. 4, 2013, an afternoon turned deadly when Marten, now 44, struck three victims in a crowded Union Square. Jeffrey Babbitt, 62, was the first to be punched. Babbitt, who was white, fell and hit his head on the pavement. Two bystanders, a 19-year-old and a 47-year-old, both of them also white, came to Babbitt’s aid and were also assaulted.

“This was not a series of random attacks — Lashawn Marten targeted victims solely on the basis of their skin color,” Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. said in a press release Tuesday.

Babbit was rushed to Bellevue Hospital and declared clinically brain-dead, dying days later. The 19-year-old victim had minor injuries, whereas the 47-year-old victim suffered from memory loss and a broken rib.

“There is no justification for street violence of any kind, but street violence fueled by hatred and prejudice is particularly inexcusable,” said Vance.

Marten received a diagnosis of schizophrenia in 2007, and has a criminal history including drug possession and assault, according to The New York Times.