https://www.frontpagemag.com/free-daniel-penny/
As conservatives bask in the glow of a new morning in America, we mustn’t lose sight of a consequential, ongoing news story that deserves our attention.
Opening statements began last Friday in the trial of Daniel Penny, a 25-year-old former Marine who faces up to 19 years in prison on charges related to the death of Jordan Neely, a homeless, mentally ill Michael Jackson impersonator who was (insert obligatory “allegedly”) threatening passengers on a New York City subway in May 2023 until Penny subdued him in a chokehold. Neely died later at the scene.
Penny’s lawyers Thomas Kenniff and Steven Raiser are arguing that he acted to protect the other passengers from Neely, whom one witness described as ranting in an “insanely threatening” way, including declaring “I want to hurt people,” that “someone is going to die today,” and that he wanted “to go to prison.” Court documents from the incident indicate that fellow passengers feared for their lives, The Daily Wire reported.
Penny’s attorneys are not only arguing that their client’s chokehold was justified due to this menacing behavior, but are also questioning whether the chokehold even caused Neely’s death. The medical examiner never provided specific evidence to support the claim that Neely died of asphyxiation, the New York Post reported.
“Some people say I was trying to choke him to death, which is also not true. I was trying to restrain him,” Penny has said, according to The Daily Wire. “You can see in the video there’s a clear rise and fall of his chest, indicating that he’s breathing. I’m trying to restrain him from being able to carry out the threats.”
But prosecutors in the Manhattan office of Left-wing activist District Attorney Alvin Bragg don’t need to prove Penny intended to kill in order to convict him. They only need to convince jurors that Penny “recklessly” caused Neely’s death, whereupon they can convict Penny of second-degree manslaughter.
