Hiram Carrero, 19, is sentenced to 5½ years in Manhattan federal court after pleading guilty to arson for setting a sleeping homeless man on fire aboard a northbound number 3 subway train.Prosecutors, who had sought up to eight years, describe the act as an attempt to kill; they say the victim was critically injured, suffered permanent scarring and was saved only by a rapid emergency response.Defense lawyer
Jennifer Brown describes a troubled childhood and intellectual challenges for
Hiram Carrero, and Judge
Lewis J. Liman imposes a sentence longer than the mandatory minimum as the case joins a series of transit arson attacks across the US.