Daniel Penny Charged With Second-Degree Manslaugher (Update)
Nearly two weeks after Daniel Penny killed Jordan Neely after placing him in a lethal chokehold on a New York subway, he has been charged with second-degree manslaughter.
A spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office on Thursday confirmed the 24-year-old U.S. Marine veteran will be arrested and charged.
“We cannot provide any additional information until he has been arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court, which we expect to take place (Friday),” the spokesperson added.
Attorneys for Daniel Penny proclaim their client is innocent of any wrongdoing.
“When Mr. Penny, a decorated Marine veteran, stepped in to protect himself and his fellow New Yorkers, his well-being was not assured,” the law firm of Raiser and Kenniff, PC, said in a statement.
“He risked his own life and safety, for the good of his fellow passengers. The unfortunate result was the unintended and unforeseen death of Mr. Neely.”
Daniel Penny is expected to surrender to the police on Friday (May 12) morning.
Daniel Penny ‘Never Intended To Harm’ Jordan Neely
Daniel Penny, the man who killed Jordan Neely on a New York subway train after placing him in a lethal chokehold, “never intended to harm him.”
In a statement released over the weekend by Penny’s attorneys, Steven M. Raiser and Thomas A. Kenniff, they painted Daniel as a college student and Marine veteran who sprung into action to protect himself and the rest of the passengers on the subway.
The statement also offered condolences to Jordan Neely’s family before pointing out his “history of violent and erratic behavior.”
Raiser and Kenniff also noted that Daniel Penny “never intended to harm Mr. Neely.”
The full statement reads:
The law firm of Raiser and Kenniff, P.C. represents Daniel Penny, a twenty-four-year-old college student and Marine veteran.
Earlier this week Daniel Penny was involved in a tragic incident on the NYC Subway, which ended in the death of Jordan Neely.
We would first like to express, on behalf of Daniel Penny, our condolences to those close to Mr. Neely.
Mr. Neely had a documented history of violence and erratic behavior, the apparent result of ongoing and untreated mental illness.
When Mr. Neely began aggressively threatening Daniel Penny and the other passengers, Daniel, with the help of others, acted to protect themselves, until help arrived. Daniel never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death.
For too long, those suffering from mental illness have been treated with indifference.
We hope that out of this awful tragedy will come a new commitment by our elected officials to address the mental health crisis on our streets and subway.
See the full statement below.
I would like to ask the attorneys of Daniel Penny what could be a bigger “indifference” than choking someone with mental illness to death.
Kenniff is a former Republican Manhattan District Attorney candidate who ran for office in 2021.
He is an Iraq War veteran and Army National Guard.
When running for office, his campaign focused on reducing crime and OPPOSING criminal justice reform.
Actress Holly Robinson Peete took to social media to react to the statement writing:
🤬🤬😡😡The whole nerve! There’s so many ways to restrain him without doing a death chokehold!!!!! You knew you were cutting the air from him, and that he needed to air to breathe, correct? End of story …I need this man to go to jail. We cannot be out here using our death holds on mentally ill people and then blaming them for being untreated…🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬
The city Medical Examiner found the cause of Jordan Neely’s May 1st death was compression of the neck and ruled the death as a homicide.
According to Juan Alberto Vazquez, who recorded the altercation on video, Jordan was acting erratically, but he did not attack anyone.
Vazquez says Jordan was yelling about being “fed up and hungry” and he was “tired of having nothing.”
Jordan also said, “I don’t care if I die. I don’t care if I go to jail. I don’t have any food … I’m done,” according to Juan.
At some point, Jordan who at one time was a Michael Jackson impersonator, threw his jacket on the train’s floor and repeated he was ready to go to jail and get a life sentence.
That’s when Daniel Penny came up from behind him and placed him in a chokehold.
According to Juan Alberto Vazquez, Jordan Neely did not interact with Daniel prior to him placing him in a chokehold, which is a total contradiction to his attorney’s claims that Jordan aggressively threatened him.
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