Daniel Penny found not guilty for the death of Jordan Neely.

 

Daniel Penny in court. New York Post. 

Daniel Penny was found not guilty in the death of Jordan Neely, a homeless man who was threatening people on the subway in New York. New York Post. Prosecutors had dropped manslaughter charges against Neely during deliberations but Penny was acquitted on the less serious charge of negligent homicide. During the trial the defense portrayed Penny as a hero that was protecting his fellow subway passengers and argued that the death of Neely was due to drugs, genetic problems and over-exertion, not the "chokehold" that Penny placed him in. Prosecutors argued that Penny went beyond self defense during the "chokehold". Many people believe that the charges were politically motivated. 

My Comment:

It was beyond absurd that this case was charged in the first place Daniel Penny did nothing wrong and Jordan Neely was acting like a menace. Once Neely threatened to kill the other people on that subway car, Penny was more than justified to take him down until police arrived. 

And I am not entirely convinced that he caused Neely's death in the first place. Neely was on drugs and had some medical problems and could have easily died from over exertion. I am guessing being placed in a restraint didn't help things, but ultimately his death wasn't predictable. I am guessing that a healthy person put into the same hold would have been, if not fine, still alive. 

Penny did what people are supposed to do when someone acts like a threat. The message this case sent is that folks should do nothing when a man goes nuts and threatens to kill folks. And if he had done nothing than perhaps someone else would be dead. Would he have been charged if he had stopped someone after Neely attacked someone, which he was known to do?

I think he would have been. Because this wasn't a case brought because Penny did the wrong thing. It was brought because he was a white male. If the races had been reversed would it have been charged? Absolutely not. But because a white guy killed a black criminal it's a huge deal. It's racism, plain and simple. 

Of course if Neely had been in jail or prison like he belonged then he would likely still be alive. New York is famous for having a revolving door criminal justice system. Neely had a 43 arrest record and at least some of those case involved violence. He's exactly the kind of person that should have never been in public in the first place, he had already proven that he couldn't handle it. It didn't help that he was on drugs and was mentally ill as well. 

I will never understand why folks sympathize with people like Neely. Sure, I guess there is some tragedy involved, a sane country would have done something to prevent his actions long before he got onto that subway. But I just can't feel bad when someone like that dies. Had Penny gone above the bounds of self defense, then sure punish him, but that's not what happened in this case. But even then I wouldn't feel bad for him, he was a menace and he died because of his own actions. 

Hopefully there won't be any repercussions for this case. Already the usual suspects are making trouble, several Democratic politicians saying some incredibly irresponsible things and there is the threat of Black Lives Matter trying to make this a thing. But I doubt we will see the 2020 summer of love. Folks are absolutely sick and tired of both the street crime and the folks that try to exploit it for political reasons. At least I hope they have.