its family Jordan NeelyA homeless man who choked to death on a New York City subway train last week is condemning the actions of a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who was seen on video restraining Neely.
In a statement released by their legal team Monday morning, Neely’s family said a statement issued last week by an attorney representing Daniel Penny “admits guilt” and “his actions on the train and now his words” show why he should be in prison.
Penny’s attorney’s statement said she “did not intend to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death.”
The New York City medical examiner ruled the 30-year-old Neely’s death was a homicide.
Penny was questioned by police and released the same day, and was not criminally charged. The case is A grand jury is expected to go before This week to determine whether or not to bring criminal charges. A grand jury could hear the case as soon as Monday, CBS New York Report
A storm of cases has arisen protest day Protesters call for justice for Neely.
Brooke Lansdale/AP
“Daniel Penny’s press release is not an apology or an expression of remorse. It is a character assassination, and a clear example of why he believed he had the right to take Jordan’s life,” the Neely family said in a statement Monday. “In the first paragraph he talks about how ‘good’ Jordan was and in the next he talks about how ‘bad’ Jordan was in an attempt to convince us that Jordan’s life was ‘pointless’. The truth is, he knew nothing about Jordan’s history when he deliberately wrapped his arms around Jordan’s neck and held him tight.”
Bystander video footage of the restraint, which took place inside an F train car on May 1, shows Penny lying on the floor beneath Neely with both hands around her neck. Penny, who is 24, claimed he acted to restrain the man who was acting erratically, according to witnesses and Penny’s attorney, who characterized the chokehold as “a tragic incident on the NYC subway that ended in the death of Jordan Neely.”
Sources previously told CBS New York that Neely was homeless and had a history of mental illness as well as an arrest record for assault and disorderly conduct charges.
His family said Monday that Penny’s actions on the train and subsequent press release spoke to his “indifference” to Neely’s life and “shows why he should be in prison.”
“In the last paragraph, Daniel Penney suggests that the general public has shown ‘indifference’ to people like Jordan, but the term is more aptly used to describe himself. It is clear that he acted with indifference, both when he killed Jordan and now. In his first public message,” they said in the statement. “He never tried to help her. In short, his actions on the train and his words now, show why he should be in prison.”
The statement from Neely’s family ended with a request to New York City Mayor Eric Adams to “please give us a call.”
“The family wants you to know that Jordan is important,” it said. “You think others are more important than you. You can’t ‘help’ someone by choking.”