Man charged with manslaughter in the death of African-American man in NY subway

The alleged perpetrator of the death of 30-year-old African-American Jordan Neely, on May 1 in the New York subway, was charged this Friday by the prosecution with second-degree manslaughter, liable to between 5 and 15 years in prison .

Daniel Penny, a 24-year-old ex-Marine who had turned himself in to police shortly before, was released after posting $100,000 bail. He will also have to surrender his passport and will not be able to leave New York state without court permission.

“After evaluating the facts and evidence, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office determined that there is probable cause to arrest Daniel Penny and charge him with felonies,” said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

According to a document released by the prosecution, several witnesses “observed that Mr. Neely threatened and frightened the passengers and the defendant approached him from behind, locking him and taking him to the ground.” Two other passengers helped Daniel Penny by pinning his arms, the brief says.

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At one point, Neely stopped moving but Penny continued to hold him before letting go, the text adds. Despite resuscitation efforts by the police and the emergency department, he was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

“Jordan Neely should be alive today, and my thoughts remain with his family and loved ones as they mourn his loss during this painful time,” the prosecutor said.

According to the New York Medical Examiner, Neely died of “compression” of the neck resulting in “homicide.”

The death of Neely, who made a living imitating Michael Jackson on the street and on the subway, was recorded by some passengers.

According to one of the witnesses, the Mexican journalist Juan Alberto Vázquez, Neely entered the subway car shouting that he was hungry and thirsty and that he was “fed up”.

In the journalist’s recording, you can see a person immobilizing the victim and others around him talking to him and taking his pulse.

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“There was no attack. Mr. Neely did not attack anyone or touch anyone. He did not hit anyone, but he was suffocated to death,” Donte Mills, one of the lawyers for the deceased’s family, told the press, who is demanding that he be tried for murder, which carries a prison sentence of up to 25 years.

Daniel Penny “cannot rewrite the end of the story. The story ends with his arms around Jordan’s neck, suffocating him to death and that’s what he has to pay for, ”said Lennon Edwards, another of the lawyers for his part.

Mental health

Jordan, who lost his mother when he was a child, also the victim of a homicide, had a history of mental problems and had been the subject of numerous police arrests.

Neely’s death has been reminiscent of that of George Floyd, also an African-American, in 2020, due to suffocation under the pressure of a policeman’s knee, which gave rise to the “Black Lives Matter” movement.

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After Penny was initially released without charge following the incident, protests ensued from both human rights groups and left-wing politicians demanding justice.

But his death has returned to focus one of the great challenges of the country’s financial capital, with almost 9 million inhabitants, regarding the mental health of people who live on the streets and the fear and insecurity felt by many subway users. a problem exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a city where survival for many people is a daunting task every day, “we could all be a paycheck or two away” from becoming “homeless and homeless,” Mills recalled.

Last November, Mayor Eric Adams announced a forced hospitalization plan for homeless people with serious psychiatric problems.

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