NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- Jordan Neely's family released a statement Monday, saying the Marine vet who allegedly choked Neely to death on a Manhattan subway train "needs to be in prison" after he "squeezed and kept squeezing."
Last week, Daniel Penny—the 24-year-old veteran and student being investigated by the Manhattan D.A. for choking Neely, 30, on an F train in SoHo last Monday—released a statement through his lawyers at Raiser and Kenniff, P.C., calling Neely's death a "tragic incident."
Penny's statement expressed condolences to Neely's loved ones while also noting Neely "had a documented history of violent and erratic behavior, the apparent result of ongoing and untreated mental illness."
"When Mr. Neely began aggressively threatening Daniel Penny and the other passengers, Daniel, with the help of others, acted to protect themselves, until help arrived," Penny's legal team said. "Daniel never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death."
"For too long, those suffering from mental illness have been treated with indifference," Penny's lawyers wrote. "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."
Neely's family fired back in a lengthy statement Monday through their legal team at Mills & Edwards. The statement is entitled, "Neely's Family Responds to Killer Daniel Penny's Admission of Guilt."
"Daniel Penny's press release is not an apology nor an expression of regret," the statement begins. "It is a character assassination, and a clear example of why he believed he was entitled to take Jordan's life."
"In the first paragraph he talks about how 'good' he is and the next paragraph he talks about how 'bad' Jordan was in an effort to convince us Jordan's life was 'worthless,'" the family continued. "The truth is, he knew nothing about Jordan's history when he intentionally wrapped his arms around Jordan's neck, and squeezed and kept squeezing."
"In the last paragraph, Daniel Penny suggests that the general public has shown 'indifference' for people like Jordan, but that term is more appropriately used to describe himself," they said. "It is clear he is the one who acted with indifference, both at the time he killed Jordan and now in his first public message. He never attempted to help him at all. In short, his actions on the train, and now his words, show why he needs to be in prison."
The statement, which is attributed to family attorneys Donte Mills and Lennon Edwards, ends with: "Mayor Eric Adams, give us a call. The family wants you to know Jordan matters. You seem to think others are more important than him."
Last week, the mayor said there are "many layers to this," and he urged New Yorkers to let the investigative "process follow its course."
Neely once entertained subway riders with his Michael Jackson impersonations, but his family has said he was never the same after his mother was strangled to death by her boyfriend in 2007. He fell into homelessness and self-medicated with drugs like K2 to treat mental health issues that included depression, his uncle said.
Neely had over 40 prior arrests, from disorderly conduct to assault, and was most recently charged in 2021 with assaulting a 67-year-old woman leaving the subway. He missed a court date after pleading guilty in that case, leading to an arrest warrant that remained active at the time of his death.
The killing has divided New Yorkers, touching on topics like mental health, public safety, homelessness and race, as Neely was Black and Penny is white. Critics have said Neely's arrest record is irrelevant, and the physical restraint excessive, since he hadn't touched anyone on the train. Those defending Penny say riders were in fear for their safety in an unpredictable situation.
Neely was acting in a "hostile and erratic manner" to passengers and saying he was hungry and "ready to die" last Monday afternoon when Marine veteran Daniel Penny placed him in a chokehold that lasted at least several minutes, according to police and witnesses. Neely lost consciousness and was transported from the Broadway–Lafayette Street station to Lenox Health Greenwich Village, where he was pronounced dead.
A grand jury could convene as early as this week on whether to charge Penny in the case, which is being investigated by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. No charges have been filed as of Monday.
If a case does go forward, an argument of self-defense would likely brush up against a “tricky” legal requirement, according to Mark Bederow, a former assistant district attorney in Manhattan.
Under New York’s penal code, a person who uses deadly force must not only prove that they feared for their own life or someone else’s, but that any reasonable person would have felt the same way.
“Suppose the Marine says, ‘I honest to God thought I had no choice but to save someone,’ the question would be whether an objectively reasonable person in his circumstances would have felt the same,” Bederow said.
The interpretation of that statute was last clarified by the state's highest court in 1986, in response to Bernhard Goetz’s shooting of four teenagers aboard a subway, an infamous case that has drawn comparisons to Neely’s death.
In 1984, Geotz, who was white, shot four young Black men after one of them asked him for $5. Goetz said he thought he was being robbed. A jury ultimately acquitted Goetz of attempted murder but convicted him of carrying an unlicensed handgun.
A charge of second degree manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide is most likely if charges are brought in this case, Bederow said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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