Outrage Mounts Following Acquittal of ex-marine Who Strangled Black Youth to Death in NYC

Daniel Penny, who killed Jordan Neely in a crowded New York City subway car on May 1, 2023, has been found not guilty of both manslaughter and the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide. That day, Daniel Penny put Neely in a chokehold for six minutes and ultimately killed him, according to a New York City medical examiner. 

Penny’s violent action against Neely was in response to his verbal outburst in a subway car they were both riding on. Neely, who was homeless at the time, had been experiencing a mental health crisis, shouting that  “I don’t have food, I don’t have a drink, I’m fed up. I don’t mind going to jail and getting life in prison. I’m ready to die.” Some witnesses report feeling threatened by Neely’s outbursts, while one reported that they had witnessed similar outbursts on public transit, and Juan Alberto Vázquez, a freelance journalist who witnessed the incident, claimed that Neely had not physically assaulted anyone. 

Neely’s killing sparked a strong response from both conservative and progressive sectors in the United States. 

Right-wing media and political figures quickly rallied around and uplifted Penny, a 26-year-old Marine veteran, as a vigilante hero, from the moment of his arrest. Following Penny’s arrest in May of 2023, some Republican presidential candidates at the time rushed to his defense, with then-candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, now Trump’s pick to head the new Department of Government Efficiency with Elon Musk, donated USD 10,000 to Penny’s defense fund, saying he did so in order to “restore the rule of law in America.” Sitting Governors of Florida Ron DeSantis, also a Republican presidential hopeful at the time, also encouraged donations to Penny’s defense, claiming that “America’s got his back.” Donald Trump, who would go on to win the Republican nomination and later the presidency, claimed that Penny “was in great danger and the other people in the [subway] car were in great danger.”

From May of 2023 until now, a right-wing narrative has emerged that Penny is a “hero,” seeking to save vulnerable New Yorkers from a dangerous homeless man. 

Following Penny’s acquittal, several conservatives have called for some form of consequences against city officials who attempted to hold Penny accountable for Neely’s killing. These include Conservative New York City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino, who has urged the incoming Trump administration to launch an investigation against the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for bringing charges against Penny, as well as Senator Ted Cruz, who has said that Penny should sue DA Alvin Bragg for “malicious prosecution.”

At the time of Neely’s death, grassroots and left-wing organizations, as well as hundreds of working class New Yorkers, led protests throughout the city. Some of these protests took place within the subway system, some spontaneously protesting directly on the train tracks of the subway, shutting down parts of the New York City transit system. 

Since Penny’s acquittal in recent days, grassroots and left-wing responded with outrage at the verdict, highlighting the racist nature of Neely’s killing as well as the lack of social services that led to his homelessness and struggles with mental illness. 

“Daniel Penny was never a hero. Daniel Penny is a murderer,” Kerbie Joseph, a longtime anti-police brutality activist and organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), told Peoples Dispatch. “If we want to protect New Yorkers from violence, then we need to provide New Yorkers with the things that they need systemically to be free from all forms of violence, including poverty.” Right after Neely was killed, the PSL was one of many organizations that led protests demanding that charges be brought against Penny.

“The system failed Jordan” 

Neely’s death, as well as the subsequent arrest, indictment, and acquittal of his killer, has drawn attention to the lack of social services and affordable housing available to New York City residents—despite the city being a beacon of concentrated wealth and having the most billionaires of any city in the world. In the days following Neely’s death, his final words were chanted throughout the city’s streets as an experience shared by many New Yorkers: “I don’t have food, I don’t have a drink, I’m fed up.”

At the time of his killing, Neely was on the city’s Department of Homeless Services’ list of the 50 most at-risk people living on city’s streets. This was the same department that NYC Mayor Eric Adams had severely defunded in 2022, slashing 20% of its entire budget. 

Beyond inadequate homeless services, it has become increasingly impossible for working people to afford housing in New York City. It is no coincidence that the cities with the highest housing costs, including New York, experience some of the highest rates of homelessness—the number one causes of homelessness being insufficient income and lack of affordable housing, according to the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty.

Landlords in New York City have seen increased profits through skyrocketing rents, which are continuously growing faster than the wages of most New Yorkers. The few protections that tenants do have in the city, such as rent stabilization which keeps rent affordable for millions of tenants, is currently under attack by landlords who have attempted to dismantle the provision in court.

Meanwhile, landlords have taken to the courts in a failed attempt to dismantle rent stabilization in the city, one of the last regulations keeping rent somewhat affordable for millions of tenants. 

“Electeds are taking deals from developers that definitely do not represent the gross income of their constituents in their neighborhoods,” Joseph said. “Evictions are some of the leading causes of homelessness which impact Black and Brown people every day within New York City.” 

“The system failed Jordan, because it never provided him with the housing that he needed, never provided him with the resources that he needed,” Joseph said.

“Jordan Neely needed FOOD, CLOTHING, SHELTER, AND HEALTHCARE… basic human rights,” stated the December 12th Movement, a Black human rights organization based in New York City. “Instead he received a death sentence by a deranged ex-Marine who took it upon himself to play judge, jury, and executioner.”

“Governor Hochul and [New York City] Mayor Adams have made it more dangerous for people experiencing homelessness, especially those from marginalized communities,” said Neil Berry, a leader with VOCAL-NY, a grassroots organization within New York state. “They enacted policies that—instead of addressing the root causes of these issues—scapegoated and stigmatized people with mental health complexities, automatically assuming they plan to do harm to others when in reality, they are more likely to be victims of violence.”