An attorney for Daniel Penny, the Marine veteran charged in the death of homeless man Jordan Neely on a subway train in New York City on May 1, said it’s “absurd” for the Neely family’s attorney to claim his client believed he had the right to take someone’s life.
Thomas Kenniff made the remarks while responding to an earlier statement by the Neely family’s attorney, Donte Mills, in reaction to Penny’s recent interview with the New York Post.
“It’s absurd to say that Danny Penny thought he had the right to take anyone else’s life and intended to take anyone’s life,” Kenniff said. “This was a situation where my client, who is just an everyday New Yorker, was put in a situation that none of us would want to be in and took reasonable steps to try to subdue someone who had introduced a frightening, threatening environment into that subway train.”
‘Terrifying’ Situation
Witnesses said Neely was behaving aggressively toward other passengers on the subway car before the incident unfolded, allegedly shouting things such as “I want food,” that he would not take no for an answer, that he was “ready to go back to jail, ” and “I’ll hurt anyone on this train.”When Penny’s attorney was asked on Monday’s program if his client has witnesses willing to testify in his defense, Kenniff responded that a “multitude” of people on the subway already offered statements describing how “frightening” and “terrifying” Neely’s behavior was before Penny, among other subway riders, decided to subdue him.
“The decision to have a defendant or someone accused of a crime testify in front of a grand jury is obviously a very significant decision. It’s one that’s made with a lot of deliberation between the legal team [and] the client. And that’s not a decision that has been made at this juncture. We first need to have come to the point where the grand jury presentation is actually ongoing,” Kenniff said.
“What I will say, though, is that we have a very thorough and proactive investigation,” he continued. “There are a multitude of civilian witnesses—both those other individuals who got involved in subduing Mr. Neely and the bystanders on the train—who really talk almost uniformly about how frightening and how terrifying this situation was for them just being on the train and observing Mr. Neely’s behaviors.”
Penny, 24, was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court on May 12 on a charge of second-degree manslaughter, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment. He is due back in court for another hearing on July 17.
“This had nothing to do with race,” Penny said in response to questions from the paper, adding, “I judge a person based on their character. I’m not a white supremacist.”
Call for Murder Charges
Kenniff previously said his client did not intend to kill Neely, arguing that Penny and other passengers were acting in self-defense. The attorney told the New York Post that he’s “confident” Penny “will be absolved of any wrongdoing.”However, Neely’s family has called for more serious charges of murder to be imposed on Penny.
Neely’s death has fiercely divided Americans, and prompted protests in New York City calling for “justice” and increased law enforcement accountability.
The incident has also brought renewed attention to several issues in the state, including crime in the subway, the treatment of mental health conditions, and the city’s growing homeless population.
Penny’s law firm blamed elected officials earlier this month for turning a blind eye to mental illness in the state. “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,” they said.
