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Daniel Penny verdict shows US divisions on race, crime

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2 minutes ago

December 12, 2024

Daniel Penny verdict shows US divisions on race, crime

Daniel Penny’s felony trial over the loss of life of Jordan Neely has change into the most recent cultural flash level underscoring deep divisions in how People view problems with race, crime and psychological well being in the USA.

A New York Metropolis jury discovered Penny, a former Marine, not responsible on prices of killing Neely, a homeless Black man, on the subway final 12 months after putting him in a choke maintain for roughly six minutes. Penny’s legal professionals argued he didn’t intend to hurt Neely and was making an attempt to guard different subway passengers, who witnessed Neely screaming that he was hungry, thirsty and able to kill somebody.

On Friday, a choose within the case dismissed the extra critical manslaughter cost after the jury was unable to return to a unanimous verdict – underscoring the divisive nature of the case and the controversial cultural matters at play.

Responses to the case, like many points in America, have fallen alongside cultural and political traces, with conservative-leaning pundits and politicians describing Penny as a hero, and progressives and activist teams calling him a assassin.

The NAACP mentioned it was “deeply disenchanted” by the decision and argued that acquitting Penny set a harmful precedent that promoted vigilante justice.

“Let’s be clear ‒ psychological well being crises are medical emergencies, not crimes,” the group wrote in a press release. “America has but once more criminalized our group and subverted accountability.”

In the meantime, Vice President-elect JD Vance heralded the choice, saying that “justice was finished” and that “it was a scandal Penny was ever prosecuted within the first place,” in a put up on X, previously Twitter, on Monday.

The dueling responses aren’t shocking, given the small print of the case, mentioned Nicole Brenecki, a Brooklyn-based trial knowledgeable.

“That is displaying the polarization of society proper now as a result of all the problems that society is grappling with got here collectively on this specific case,” Brenecki mentioned, pointing to security on the nation’s largest subway system, psychological sickness and the homelessness disaster.

Diverging viewpoints

Republicans and Democrats have emphasised totally different elements of the sophisticated case, drawing on their opposing views on cultural points.

Within the weeks after the incident, Republican lawmakers rallied in help of Penny, portray him as a hero whose actions helped defend the lives of others on the subway.

Very like Penny’s protection workforce, Republicans highlighted that Neely’s actions scared some passengers on the subway. Penny, they asserted, was not solely appearing out of self-defense however for the general public good.

In a video testimony in regards to the altercation, Penny mentioned Neely gave the impression to be on medicine when he entered the subway, threw his jacket at individuals and yelled threats that he was going to kill, was ready to go to jail and was prepared to die.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a former Republican presidential candidate, known as Penny a “Good Samaritan” in a tweet shortly after Neely died in Might 2023. He described the costs towards Penny as a part of a pro-criminal “agenda” by Democrats.

DeSantis additionally criticized Democratic Manhattan District Lawyer Alvin Bragg, who introduced the costs towards Penny. Bragg led the prosecution of President-elect Donald Trump’s New York hush cash trial and has obtained ire from Republicans since.

On Monday, DeSantis counseled the jury’s resolution to acquit Penny of criminally negligent murder within the loss of life of Neely, saying it was “clearly the simply and proper verdict.”

Rudy Giuliani, the previous mayor of New York and an in depth Trump ally, known as the decision a “nice act of justice” that rejected “racist, unjust prices.” He mentioned Penny deserved a medal from the town for his actions.

In distinction, progressive Democrats described Neely’s loss of life as rising from systemic points associated to race, poor funding for psychological well being care and lack of social providers for the homeless.

Neely, a road and subway performer, had skilled homelessness and poor psychological well being main as much as his loss of life, in response to legal professionals for his household. His issues first began at age 14 when his mom was murdered and continued on and off for years.

If Neely had not been homeless, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-N.Y., instructed he might have been handled in another way when he entered the subway automobile.

“(As a result of) Jordan was houseless and crying for meals in a time when the town is elevating rents and stripping providers to militarize itself whereas many in energy demonize the poor, the assassin will get protected,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote in a tweet two days after Neely’s loss of life.

Jamila Hodge, CEO of Equal Justice USA, a nationwide nonprofit targeted on racial justice and group security, argued that the case surrounding Neely’s loss of life is an instance of how the felony justice system fails to guard society’s most susceptible members after they’re struggling and land in hurt’s manner.

“We’re continually reminded that the regulation shouldn’t be sufficient,” Hodge, who’s a former assistant U.S. Lawyer, mentioned, referencing a speech Martin Luther King Jr. gave in 1965. “Jordan Neely is lifeless and Daniel Penny has been acquitted due to the idea of dangerousness that attaches to Black pores and skin.”

Long run influence

Regardless of the political chasm, Brenecki mentioned that whereas the cultural items of the case had been necessary, there have been different authorized points as properly.

“Should you carry this case all the way down to its nuts and bolts, this case was not about all the opposite points that had been raised,” she mentioned. “This case boiled down as to if the stress that was utilized to the sufferer’s neck was unreasonable or not.”

The “minutia of the authorized choices” ruled how the case performed out in courtroom, Brenecki mentioned, however the different particulars will proceed to spark conversations about coverage and public security.

“The social and political discourse that outcomes from them may be very, very, crucial for us to replicate upon,” she mentioned. “On the finish of the day, our governments and our legislators needs to be very, very busy appearing upon our social discourse.”