Rosa Palumbo '25
Anger is growing in NYC after a black homeless man, Jordan Neely, was choked to death on a subway train by a former US Marine named Daniel Penny.
Daniel Penny was charged with manslaughter, but Penny’s lawyers said their client did not mean to kill him. A viral video shows the former marine putting 30-year old Jordan Neely in a chokehold on May 1st, while riding the F train in Manhattan.
According to witnesses, Neely was impersonating Michael Jackson in the subway system, complaining loudly about being hungry, and saying he was ready to die. And that's when Penny came up behind him, gripped him around the neck and restrained him on the floor of the subway car. Soon Neely stopped moving, and was declared dead.
Penny was arraigned on one count of second-degree manslaughter in Manhattan Criminal Court, where judge Kevin McGrath released him on $100,000 bond and ordered him to surrender his passport. He is due back in court on July 17, 2023. Penny entered the courtroom with handcuffs, and he was not in handcuffs when he exited.
The bystander’s video drew major national attention, and there were protests taken place by those who said prosecutors delayed charging Penny (a white male), with killing Neely (a black male). Some said the incident amounted to an example of “white vigilantism” against people of color.
Penny’s attorneys told the court that he grew up in the NYC area before serving for four years in the Marine Corps. After Penny was honorably discharged, he pursued a bachelor's degree in architecture in NYC.
The U.S. Marine Corps said in a written statement on Friday that Penny served between 2017 and 2021, attaining the rank of sergeant. He received several awards at the Marine Corps. In his earlier statement, Penny expressed “condolences to those close with Mr. Neely.”
Donte Mills, a lawyer representing Neely’s family, told reporters on Friday that Penny should be held criminally liable for taking the law in his own hands.
"We don't want it that you can kill someone because you thought there was the possibility they could do something to you," Mills said. "Mr. Neely did not attack anyone, but he was choked to death."
The video of Neely’s death revived a debate among New Yorkers about crime in the subway and how to deal with the uprise of homeless people in the city.
A spate of attacks on train passengers last year, mostly Asian Americans, prompted NYC mayor Eric Adams to increase police patrols and expand outreach to the mentally ill in the subway system.
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