Nine of the 12 jurors who found Occupy Wall Street protester Cecily McMillan guilty of felony assault against a police officer have written a letter to the judge asking him to go easy on her sentencing, recommending community service and probation instead of prison time. McMillan, who was convicted on Monday of striking NYPD officer Grantley Bovell during an Occupy protest two years ago, could face up to seven years in prison for the crime, though some of the jurors might not have been aware that such a steep maximum penalty came along with their verdict.
In their letter — Gothamist has a copy — the jurors wrote that the “felony mark on her record is punishment enough.” Her sentencing is slated for May 19.
Today, McMillan, who claims she struck the cop instinctively when someone grabbed her breast from behind, was visited at Rikers by Pussy Riot’s Nadezhda “Nadya” Tolokonnikova and Maria “Masha” Alyokhina. “We were appalled and saddened to hear about [McMillan’s case],” said Alyokhina. “We have sympathy for the Occupy Wall Street movement, and we honestly believe no country should have political prisoners.”
