The 20-year-old Brooklyn man who fatally stabbed social justice advocate Ryan Carson near a bus stop in 2023 could spend the rest of his life in prison for the unprovoked killing.
A court ordered Brian Dowling to serve at least 20 years behind bars in connection with the fatal stabbing of Carson as he and his girlfriend waited for a bus shortly before 4 a.m. in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
The sentence was handed down Wednesday during an emotional hearing that followed Dowling’s Jan. 22 plea deal.
“With today’s sentence, justice has been served — but that will not bring back Ryan Carson or all the benefits he would have brought to our communities if his life wasn’t cut short by this defendant,” District Attorney Gonzalez said in a statement announcing the ruling.
Video evidence showed Dowling, who was agitated and kicking parked scooters, turn to Carson and yell “I’m going to kill you.” Carson could be seen attempting to calm his attacker down before turning to run and tripping over a bench. Dowling then stabbed Carson repeatedly before fleeing the scene.
The murder weapon was discovered under greenery next to a sidewalk near the crime scene.
Prosecutors said Dowling turned himself in days later after being named a person of interest. A subsequent search of the suspect’s apartment turned up multiple knives with similar handles to the one they’d found at the scene.
Gonzalez’s office called Carson’s killing “beyond abhorrent and senseless” while praising Dowling’s lengthy prison sentence.
The victim worked with the Pratt Institute’s New York Public Interest Research Group, which produces studies and public education campaigns meant to strengthen consumer and voter rights. The school said he graduated with honors in 2014.
Carson’s girlfriend, Claudia Morales, called Dowling’s guilty plea the “end of a very long journey,” according to the New York Times.