On Monday, a Manhattan jury found Daniel Penny not guilty of criminally negligent homicide in Jordan Neely ’s 2023 death, after he died fol,lowing a six minute chokehold by Penny, a Marine veteran.
Neely was acting erratically and loudly on a Manhattan subway train when Penny acted, restraining him so intensely that he died.
I can understand if Neely physically assaulted someone or had brandished a weapon, but he did not. Penny is a Marine veteran and knew what he was doing. It was a spur of the moment act by Penny, but killing somebody used to be a crime in this country.
And as is par for the course, Republicans celebrated Penny’s acquittal. JD Vance responded this way: “I have not said much about this case out of fear of (negatively) influencing the journey,” Vice President-Elect JD Vance posted on X Monday afternoon. “But thank God justice was done in this case. It was a scandal Penny was ever prosecuted in the first place.”
Rep. Crane from Arizona went further saying he’s proposing a resolution to give Daniel Penny the Congressional Gold Medal.
CNN contributor Scott Jennings was asked how he felt about this decision,
“I think he ought to get a medal,” Jennings said. “I think they ought to build a statue to this guy in New York City.”
What an asswipe, but you knew that.
If Penny stays away from the right-wing spotlight, that would show me that he is at least internally contrite about the action.
It’s interesting how Republicans are celebrating a Manhattan jury for finding Penny not guilty, but then derided all of Manhattan for convicting Trump of 34 felony counts.
Kyle Cheung writing for Jezebel: Daniel Penny, Who Strangled Jordan Neely for 6 Minutes, Found Not Guilty of Strangling Him to Death
Over the last year, the right has frequently invoked the events leading up to Neely’s death to inflame panics about public safety, all while deliberately ignoring the cruel policies and conditions that condemned Neely to homelessness and starvation. If anything, Penny’s acquittal presents a public safety threat by suggesting that you can kill anyone for daring to expose you to their suffering in a public place. The classist systems of violence that killed Jordan Neely present the greatest threat to our collective safety.
