Bracey told Charney "I've taken risks before,"the witness said.
According to The New York Times and Daniels,Bracey attempted to swim the English Channel in1982, and at one time owned a pet leopard.
Daniels said his client has not yet entered aplea but that even if Bracey did set the blaze, hemight not be guilty of arson because that crimeapplies only to buildings which are occupied bypeople. Although it is unclear whether thestructure can legally be considered a residence,no one is currently known to be living within thestructure.
Students, who occupied the shantyaround-the-clock when it was first built, now useit only as a campus base from which to distributeleaflets, said Nancy L. Fishman, a recent Yalegraduate and member of the university's CoalitionAgainst Apartheid (CAA).
Charney said the CAA plans to rebuild theshanty this summer.
New Haven Superior Court Judge Robert E. Reillyset Bracey's arraignment for June 21