Daniel Penny doesn’t deserve a plea deal after being charged with manslaughter in Jordan Neely’s subway chokehold, according to Neely’s uncle.
Christopher Neely made the comments about the 24-year-old Marine in a weekend interview, also calling for the prosecution of the other two men who helped Daniel Penny detain Neely.
“He must be prosecuted or he will do it again,” Christopher told The New York Post on Sunday. “It’s a slap in the face to Jordan’s family and the people of New York.”
Penny is facing manslaughter charges in connection with Neely’s death on May 1, and was charged after a viral video showed the confrontation between the two men on an F train in New York City.
On Saturday, Penny said Neely’s death had nothing to do with race, noting that he did what he thought was right and would behave the same way if put in the same situation again.
Daniel Penny, 24, faces 15 years in prison for putting Jordan Neely, 30, in a deadly stranglehold
Neely’s uncle said Penny should not be offered a plea deal by the Manhattan DA’s Office, which charged him with second-degree manslaughter for the on-camera incident.
“I want this to go to court,” he said. “He has too much confidence in himself and needs to be taught that what he did was wrong.”
Earlier this week, Penny claimed, “I judge a person by their character. I’m not a white supremacist.”
The now infamous video showed Penny restraining Neely with the help of two other passengers after the homeless Michael Jackson impersonator allegedly yelled threats and intimidated people on the train.
On Friday, Neely’s funeral took place in Harlem, where Rev. Al Sharpton delivered a fiery eulogy to a crowd of hundreds, saying “when they strangled Jordan, they put their arms around us.”
But Penny, who is currently out on $100,000 bail, rejected suggestions that his fatal confrontation with Neely was an act of hate or discrimination, saying, “This had nothing to do with race.”
On May 1, Penny put Neely in a fatal chokehold on a New York subway. Neely had threatened passengers
“I mean, it’s, it’s kind of comical. Anyone who has ever met me can tell you: I love all people, I love all cultures,” Penny told The Post.
“You can see it in my past and all my travels and adventures around the world. I was actually planning a road trip across Africa before this happened,” says Penny.
“I’m a normal kid,” Penny added, insisting he’s not a vigilante.
Penny, who is from Long Island, faces 15 years in prison for strangling Neely, in a subway confrontation that began after Neely allegedly yelled threats and threw objects into the train.
The case was highly polarizing, with conservative politicians wanting 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 that while he was aware of negative opinions about him, he tried not to be influenced by them.
“When you’re facing all these challenges, you have to stay calm,” he said. “What’s the point of worrying about something, worrying won’t make your problems go away. I blame this on my father and grandfather. They’re very stoic.’
Penny also said he quit social media years ago.
“I don’t follow anyone, and I don’t have social media because I really don’t like the attention and I just think there are better ways to spend your time. I don’t like the spotlight.’
Penny, 24, turned heel after the district attorney’s office announced he would be charged with second-degree manslaughter. He recently said that ‘it’s tragic what happened [Neely]but would do the same in a similar situation
Pallbearers carry Jordan Neely’s coffin days before his uncle said Penny wouldn’t get a plea in the case
Neely’s family has called for Penny to be charged with murder. When asked what he would like to say to them, he answered gloomily, “I am deeply saddened by the loss of life.”
“It’s tragic what happened to him. Hopefully we can change the system that has failed us so desperately,” Penny said.
When a Post reporter read Penny part of Sharpton’s eulogy at Friday’s funeral, Penny responded by nodding and saying he was “not sure” who Sharpton is, adding that he “don’t know celebrities very well.”
Neely’s funeral was attended by prominent left-wing politicians, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who framed Penny for murder.
At the funeral at Mount Neboh Baptist Church in Harlem, Sharpton gave a fiery eulogy condemning Neely’s death as unjust and undeserved.
“We can’t live in a town where you can strangle me with no provocation, no gun, no threat and you go home and sleep in your bed while my family has to take me to a graveyard,” Sharpton said.
Neely had threatened death and thrown trash on the uptown F train in New York City before his death and had a long criminal record for felonies including assault and disorderly conduct.
Reverend Al Sharpton used homeless Jordan Neely’s funeral to condemn the behavior of Penny, who put the 30-year-old in a deadly chokehold
U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attended Neely’s funeral, she previously said Neely was killed
Sharpton said his behavior was a cry for help.
Jordan didn’t annoy anyone on the train. Jordan screamed for help. We continue to criminalize people with mental illness. They don’t need abuse, they need help,” he said.
“We can’t celebrate Jordan’s life, but we can’t forget how he died. We’re not here for natural reasons.’
Sharpton also took aim at Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and other conservatives who have characterized Penny as a “Good Samaritan” and defended his actions.
“A Good Samaritan helps people in trouble, they don’t suffocate them. What happened to Jordan was a crime and this family shouldn’t be alone.”
Sharpton also condemned what he said was New York City’s failure to care for the homeless.
“He’s been suffocating all his life,” Sharpton said, adding that “in your name, we’re going to change how they treat the homeless.”
Neely had an extensive criminal record for subway crimes, including violent assaults against other passengers.
In 2021, Neely attacked an elderly woman as she exited the Bowery station in the East Village. She suffered a broken nose, broken eye socket and “bruising, swelling and significant pain in the back of her head” during the Nov. 12 attack, according to an indictment.
On February 9, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, he admitted to committing a felony in exchange for an alternative to 15 months incarceration.
He would stay in a treatment center and stay sober.
Penny, 24, faces 15 years in prison for placing Neely, 30, in stranglehold where he later died
Penny said race played no part in his actions and that, “I judge a person by their character. I’m not a white supremacist’
Between January 2020 and August 2021, Neely was arrested for public lewdness after pulling down his pants and exposing himself to a woman, felony for punching a woman in the face, and criminal contempt for violating a restraining order.
According to Fox News, all three cases were dismissed as part of his Feb. 9 plea deal.
In June 2019, Neely assaulted 68-year-old Filemon Castillo Baltazar on the platform of the W. 4th St. Station in Greenwich Village, court records show.
“Out of the blue he punched me in the face,” the victim told the New York Daily News. He said he saw Neely searching for food in garbage cans before the attack.
A month earlier, Neely punched a man in the face and broke his nose on the Broadway-Lafayette platform — the same subway station where he died.
On both 2019 counts, he pleaded guilty to assault and was sentenced to six months in prison.
Although Neely had a history of disruptive behavior and violent accusations, friends and relatives said they don’t believe he would have harmed anyone if Penny had simply left him alone.
Neely’s family said he was “having a mental health episode” and no rider asked what was wrong until Penny and two other riders restrained him.
The other occupants who helped restrain Neely on the train have not been publicly identified and police are seeking them for questioning.