Daniel Penny, the hero Marine who throttled a deranged homeless man on the New York subway last May, will have to stand trial on second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide charges after a judge denied his motion to dismiss the charges.
Penny is charged in connection with the death of Jordan Neely, who terrified passengers by screaming and asking for money. As passengers shrank from the aggressive and threatening Neely, Penny and two other passengers dragged Neely to the floor of the subway car where Neely put the struggling homeless man in a chokehold. Neely died on the spot.
Naturally, race hustler Al Sharpton was at the forefront of the lynch mob demanding Penny be arrested as a right-wing racist. Penny noted in one of the interviews he gave after the incident that. “The majority of the people on that train that I was protecting were minorities, so it hurts a lot to be called that.”
Jordan Neely was frequently seen on subways accosting passengers and in one case at least, he assaulted a woman.
Daniel Penny had his request to dismiss charges against him denied.
If you try to prevent this man from assaulting people, you could face 15-25 years in prison. pic.twitter.com/wzr2pHViPX
— David Santa Carla 🦇 (@TheOnlyDSC) January 17, 2024
Court documents show that passengers feared for their lives when Neely was ranting and demanding money. But because Neely was black and Penny is white, the wheels of justice ground on in a case that should never have been brought.
But Sharpton and other race radicals saw an opportunity to get face time on TV and donations to their various racialist groups.
“We’re gonna’ get your ass, cracker!” one man screamed through a megaphone as he bounded around the car. “Daniel Penny is a murderer! He’s a murderer! You a murderer!
“There’s a murderer in this car! He choked out a New Yorker!” the man continued, as the NYPD tried to clear him away and let the SUV through.
Penny’s attorney, Thomas Kenniff, said that although the defense team disagrees with the court’s decision to allow the case to move forward, they “understand that the legal threshold to continue even an ill-conceived prosecution is very low.”
“We are confident that a jury, aware of Danny’s actions in putting aside his own safety to protect the lives of his fellow riders, will deliver a just verdict,” Kenniff said in a statement. “Danny is grateful for the continued prayers and support through this difficult process,” Kenniff said in an emailed statement.
Meanwhile, Donte Mills, the Neely family’s attorney, called Wiley’s ruling a “big win” while speaking to reporters after court.
The dismissal motion was a long shot, confirming that the grand jury’s decision was not surprising. Penny has several motions before the judge, including suppressing some statements he made to the police and evidence that might be misinterpreted by the prosecution.
I doubt whether Penny is going to plead unless no jail time is involved. Given the racial character of the prosecution, that’s not likely.