Marine veteran Daniel Penny, who fatally choked Jordan Neely last year while aboard a New York subway train, was found not guilty of criminally negligent homicide Dec. 9 morning by jurors who deliberated for just a few hours before delivering their verdict.
The NAACP immediately decried the verdict. “The acquittal of Daniel Penny in the death of Jordan Neely has effectively given license for vigilante justice to be waged on the Black community without consequence.”
“It’s a painful reminder of the inequities in our justice system. Jordan deserved compassion. Instead, he was met with violence,” wrote the civil rights organization on X/Twitter.
“Jordan Neely deserved more. His life, like all Black lives, held infinite worth. We honor him by refusing to accept a system that turns away from those in need and rewards those who cause harm,” wrote Black Lives Matter, after the acquittal was announced.
43 Arrests
Neely, 30, a Black unhoused man, boarded a train on May 1, 2023, and started screaming at passengers, saying he was hungry and thirsty. He also said he was unafraid of going to prison, and not afraid to die. Neely had been arrested 40 times previously for minor infractions, including jumping the subway turnstile, and petty theft. He had also been arrested 3 times for unprovoked attacks on women.
The young man, described as a street artist, had struggled with depression after the murder of his mother, whose body found in a suitcase. Neely, 14, was called on to testify in the case.
According to court documents and witness statements, Penny, 24, grabbed Neely from behind, and took him down to the floor of the train. He then put Neely in a chokehold which lasted at least 6 minutes. Even as Neely began to spit up mucus and blood, other passengers on the train did not intervene on his behalf. Two other men came to the aid of Penny, pinning Neely’s arms to the ground.
Homicide
Neely was unconscious when police arrived at the scene. He was declared dead at Lenox Hill Hospital. The New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled that the manner of death was homicide.
Penny was charged with voluntary manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. A jury deadlocked on the voluntary manslaughter charge Dec. 6, which was subsequently dropped. The jury acquitted Penny of criminally negligent homicide Dec. 9.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, said in a post on X last year: “Jordan Neely was murdered.”
Lynching
“But because Jordan was houseless and crying for food in a time when the city is raising rents and stripping services to militarize itself while many in power demonize the poor, the murderer gets protected with passive headlines and no charges. It’s disgusting,” she wrote.
New York State Senator Julia Salazar has called Neely’s death a “lynching.”
Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Illinois, issued a statement after the verdict. “The outcome of this trial forces us to confront troubling questions about the society we are becoming. Is this who we are? Are we willing to accept a new normal where vigilantes feel entitled to take justice into their own hands, especially when it comes to Black lives?”
“Jordan Neely’s story is a heartbreaking reminder of the challenges faced by individuals living with mental health struggles. He deserved compassion, care, and assistance—not a violent end. The decision to acquit Daniel Penny sends a dangerous signal: that some lives, particularly Black lives, can be devalued without consequence,” wrote Jackson.
