Daniel Penny doesn’t deserve a plea deal after being charged with manslaughter in the subway strangulation death of Jordan Neely, according to Neely’s uncle.
Christopher Neely made the comments about the 24-year-old Marine in a weekend interview, in which he also called for the prosecution of the other two men seen helping Daniel Penny hold Neely down.
“He needs to be prosecuted or he will start again,” Christopher told the New York Post on Sunday. “This is a blow to Jordan’s family and the people of New York.”
Penny is facing a manslaughter charge in connection with Neely’s death on May 1, and he was charged after viral video showed the pair confronting each other on an F train in New York City,
On Saturday, Penny said Neely’s death had nothing to do with race, noting he did what he believed was right and would behave the same if he found himself again in the same situation.
Daniel Penny, 24, faces 15 years in prison for putting Jordan Neely, 30, in a fatal chokehold
Neely’s uncle said Penny should not be offered a plea deal by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, who charged him with second-degree manslaughter for the incident caught on camera.
“I want this to go to trial,” he said. “He’s overconfident and he needs to be taught what he did wrong.”
Earlier this week, Penny claimed: ‘I judge a person by their character. I am not a white supremacist.
The now infamous video showed Penny holding Neely back with the help of two other passengers after the homeless Michael Jackson impersonator allegedly shouted threats and bullied people on the train.
Neely’s funeral was held in Harlem on Friday, where Reverend Al Sharpton delivered a eulogy to a crowd of hundreds, saying “when they choked Jordan, they put their arms around all of us.”
But Penny, who is currently free on $100,000 bail, dismissed the idea that her fatal confrontation with Neely was an act of hatred or discrimination, saying: “It has nothing to do with race.”
On May 1, Penny put Neely in a fatal chokehold on a New York City subway. Neely had threatened the passengers
‘I mean, it’s, it’s kind of comedic. Anyone who’s ever met me can tell you, I love everyone, I love every culture,’ Penny told the Post.
‘You can tell by my background and all my travels and adventures around the world. I was actually planning a road trip through Africa before this happened,” Penny said.
“I’m a normal guy,” Penny added, insisting he’s not a vigilante.
Penny, who is from Long Island, is facing 15 years in prison for putting Neely in the chokehold, in a confrontation on the subway that began after Neely allegedly shouted threats and threw objects at the train.
The case has been highly polarized, with conservative politicians jumping to defend Penny, and prominent liberals calling for him to be convicted of murder and jailed.
But Penny told the Post that he doesn’t watch the news and while aware of the negative opinions about him, he tries not to let them affect him.
“If you’re facing all these challenges, you have to stay calm,” he said. ‘What’s the point of worrying about something, worrying isn’t going to make your problems go away. I attribute this to my father and my grandfather. They are very very stoic.
Penny also said he quit social media years ago.
“I’m nobody and I don’t have social media because I really don’t like attention and I just think there are better ways to spend your time.” I don’t like the limelight.
Penny, 24, turned himself in after the district attorney’s office announced he would be charged with second-degree manslaughter. He recently said that “it’s tragic what happened to [Neely]’ but would act the same in a similar situation
Pallbearers carry Jordan Neely’s coffin days before his uncle says Penny shouldn’t get a plea deal in the case
Neely’s family has requested that Penny be charged with murder. When asked what he would like to say to them, he replied grimly, “I am deeply saddened by the loss of life.”
“It’s tragic what happened to him. I hope we can change the system that has failed us so hopelessly,” Penny said.
When a Post reporter read Penny part of Sharpton’s eulogy at Friday’s funeral, Penny responded by shaking his head and saying he was “not sure” who Sharpton was, adding that he “didn’t know the celebrities very well”.
Neely’s funeral was attended by prominent leftist politicians, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who accused Penny of murder.
During the funeral at Mount Neboh Baptist Church in Harlem, Sharpton delivered a eulogy condemning Neely’s death as unjust and undeserved.
“We can’t live in a city where you can choke me to death with no provocation, no weapon, no threat and you go home and sleep in your bed while my family has to put me in a cemetery,” Sharpton said. .
Neely had threatened and thrown trash on the F train in downtown New York before his death and had a lengthy criminal record for offenses including assault and disorderly conduct.
Reverend Al Sharpton used homeless Jordan Neely’s funeral to condemn Penny’s behavior which put the 30-something in a fatal stranglehold
US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was seen at Neely’s funeral, she previously said Neely was murdered
Sharpton said his behavior was a cry for help.
“Jordan didn’t bother anyone on the train. Jordan was screaming for help. We continue to criminalize people with mental illness. They don’t need abuse, they need help,” he said.
“We shouldn’t celebrate Jordan’s life, but we shouldn’t forget how he died. We are not here because of natural causes.
Sharpton also took aim at Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and other conservatives who called Penny a “good Samaritan” and defended her actions.
‘A good Samaritan helps those who have problems, they don’t suffocate them. What happened to Jordan was a crime and this family should not be alone.
Sharpton also condemned what he called New York City’s failure to care for the homeless.
“He’s been suffocated his whole life,” Sharpton said, adding that “on your behalf, we’re going to change the way they treat the homeless.”
Neely had a long rap sheet for crimes on the subway, including vicious assaults on other passengers.
In 2021, Neely attacked an elderly woman as she left Bowery Station in the East Village. She suffered a broken nose, a fractured orbital bone and “bruising, swelling and significant pain in the back of her head” during the Nov. 12 attack, according to a criminal complaint.
He admitted to being assaulted on February 9 in exchange for a 15-month alternative program to incarceration, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
He was supposed to stay in a treatment center and stay sober.
Penny, 24, faces 15 years in prison for putting Neely, 30, in the stranglehold where he later died
Penny said race played no part in her actions and that “I judge a person by their character”. I am not a white supremacist’
Between January 2020 and August 2021, Neely was arrested for public obscenity after pulling down his pants and exposing himself to a woman, misdemeanor assault for punching a woman in the face, and criminal contempt for violating a restraining order.
All three cases were dismissed as part of his Feb. 9 plea deal, according to Fox News.
In June 2019, Neely assaulted Filemon Castillo Baltazar, 68, on the platform of the W. 4th St. station in Greenwich Village, according to court records.
“Out of nowhere, he punched me in the face,” the victim told the New York Daily News. He said he saw Neely before the attack rummaging through trash cans for food.
A month earlier, Neely punched a man in the face, breaking his nose on the Broadway-Lafayette platform – the same subway station where he died.
For both 2019 cases, he pleaded guilty to assault and was sentenced to six months in prison.
While Neely had a history of disruptive behavior and violent accusations, friends and relatives said they did not believe he would have hurt anyone if Penny had left him alone.
Neely’s family said he “had an episode of mental health” and no runner asked what was wrong before Penny and two other runners held him down.
The other passengers who helped hold Neely on the train have not been publicly identified and police are looking for them for questioning.
