[The Epoch Times, April 01, 2023](Reported by Epoch Times reporter Lin Yijun in New York) On March 31, Judge Michele Rodney of the New York State Supreme Court (New York State Supreme Court) finally sentenced 51 The 22-year-old Jarrod Powell was sentenced to 22 years in prison for the murder of the Chinese waste picker Ma Yaopan, and he had to be supervised for another 5 years following his release.
Due to the late arrival of the lawyer that day, the court session was postponed from 9:30 to close to 11:00, but the entire court session ended in regarding 15 minutes. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg sat low-key in the public gallery wearing a mask to understand the trial process. When he left the court, he was surrounded by a large number of media, but he left quickly without saying a word.
The day before Ma Yaopan’s trial, the Manhattan grand jury voted to indict former President Trump over the hush money incident.
Regarding the final trial results of Ma Yaopan’s murder case, Bai Airong stated in a statement on the 31st: “Mr. Ma Yaopan’s death was the result of a despicable, racially motivated attack.”
“New York is one of the most diverse cities in the world, and no one should worry that they may be at risk because of their (identity) background. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure that New Yorkers of all origins feel safe. “Bai Airong said.
Earlier this year, Powell pleaded guilty to a hate crime of first-degree manslaughter in the Manhattan Criminal Court of the New York State Superior Court. According to the plea agreement, he will be sentenced to 22 years in prison. Powell said at the time that he targeted Ma Yaopan because he was Asian.
“He (Bai Airong) does not attend every trial. Although he didn’t say anything, his attendance has shown that this is an important case.” Chu Qi, chairman of the Anti-Asian Violence Working Group of the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY) Ling (Elaine Chiu) said in an interview, “We need more Asians to go to court to care regarding these things.”
Chu Qiling has been concerned regarding the murder of Ma Yaopan from the very beginning. For this reason, she wrote to the judge Rodney in charge of the case on March 29, hoping that she can pay attention to the rising number of Asian hate crimes following 2020.
Early on the morning of the trial day, Chu Qiling and her colleagues from AABANY had already sat down in the auditorium. Don Lee, chairman of the board of directors of Pine House Community Service Center, also brought more than a dozen people of Asian descent to the court to listen to the process of the judge’s sentencing of Powell. After the trial, Rodney also went to the auditorium to talk with Chu Qiling, Li Zongbao and others to understand the concern of the Asian community on this case and anti-Asian hate crimes.
During the trial, Karlin Chan, a member of the Third Manhattan Community Committee, attended instead of Ma Yaopan’s family members. Calvin Hunt and Richard Krikpatrick, members of the African-American community from Harlem, also held the horse Yao’s photo in silent protest to Powell.
Chen Jialing said that both he and Ma Yaopan were immigrants who wanted to build a new life in the United States, but he did not expect that Ma Yaopan’s life would be “cut in half by a stranger” within just two years following coming to the United States. Chen Jialing sued Powell’s behavior in court It’s “drawing a father away from a child”.
Regarding Chen Jialing’s complaint, Powell told the judge in court: “No comment. (No comment.)”
On April 23, 2021, at approximately 8:15 p.m., Powell approached Ma Yaopan, a Chinese trash collector, from behind on 125th Street in Harlem, Manhattan, beat him, and knocked him to the ground.
When Ma Yaopan fell to the ground and was unable to defend himself, Powell still stepped on his head many times and kicked him in the head, face and neck several times, causing Ma Yaopan brain trauma and requiring life support. On December 31 of the same year, Ma Yaopan unfortunately died of injuries.
Editor in charge: Zheng Hua