Daniel Penny's Attorneys: He ‘Never Intended To Harm’ Jordan Neely. But Does That Matter?
Daniel J. Penny, the man who allegedly choked Jordan Neely to death last week on a northbound F train in New York City, never intended to hurt anyone according to his legal team. Penny, who is a 24-year-old U.S. Marine veteran, placed Neely, 30, in a deadly chokehold in order to protect himself and others his lawyers claimed.
“We would first like to express, on behalf of Daniel Penny, our condolences to those close to Mr. Neely,” the law firm of Raiser and Kenniff, P.C. explained in a statement Friday. “When Mr. Neely began aggressively threatening Daniel Penny and the other passengers, Daniel, with the help of others, acted to protect themselves, until help arrived.
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“Daniel never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death. We hope that out of this awful tragedy will come a new commitment by our elected officials to address the mental health crisis on our streets and subways.”
Although Penny’s attorneys claimed that he was defending himself as well as other passengers, it has been noted that Neely never physically assaulted or attacked anyone. When police arrived at the Broadway and East Houston Street subway station, he was unconscious. Neely was later pronounced dead at a hospital, law enforcement officials said.
According to the city chief medical examiner’s office, he died from “compression of neck (chokehold)“ and his death has been ruled a homicide. Penny was taken into custody following the incident and was questioned by police, but ultimately was released. There have been no charges filed against him.
Per NBC News, sources who are familiar with the matter stated that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is anticipated to bring the case before a grand jury for its consideration of tentative charges. However, the timeline for this course of expected action is unknown.
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