Ex-Marine Indicted for NYC Subway Chokehold Death

Improve the News Foundation -

Facts

  • A grand jury has voted to indict former US Marine Daniel Penny for second-degree manslaughter in the killing of Jordan Neely, the homeless man who died while being held in a chokehold by Penny in a New York City subway car on May 1.1
  • Penny was arrested and arraigned on May 12 before being released on bail. State law requires New York District Attorney (DA) Alvin Bragg to obtain a grand jury indictment before proceeding with the case. The DA’s office says Penny will be arraigned again on June 28.2
  • Witnesses of the incident described Neely shouting at passengers and behaving erratically before Penny placed Neely in a chokehold until he stopped breathing. The medical examiner's report ruled the death a homicide.3
  • Penny and his attorneys have said Neely was 'aggressively threatening' him and other passengers, an account disputed by some witnesses. Penny has stated he only wanted to restrain Neely until authorities arrived.4
  • The encounter between Neely, who was Black, and Penny, White, sparked discussions over race, the treatment of those with mental illness, and crime in New York City.5

Sources: 1BBC News, 2New York Times, 3CNN, 4The Hill and 5NPR Online News.

Narratives

  • Right narrative, as provided by FOX News. Daniel Penny is being wrongfully prosecuted for exercising his right to self-defense and for trying to protect those around him, as Democrat district attorneys care more for the rights of the lawless than ordinary citizens. Jordan Neely would still be alive if failed, leftist policies did not allow him to roam free and terrorize the people of New York, given his history of violence. What happened was a tragedy but not a crime.
  • Left narrative, as provided by BostonGlobe.com. Making people uncomfortable on the subway isn't punishable by death. Poverty, mental illness, and race are too often criminalized in the US, and Penny's startling act of vigilantism is colored by America's long history of treating Black men as criminals. Neely was far from the 'perfect victim,' but it makes his death no less of an injustice. Neely is being smeared as a criminal when it is Penny himself who deserves that title.

Predictions