Donors have flooded an online fund with more than $2 million to pay for the legal expenses of Daniel Penny, the man who’s accused of killing Jordan Neely after holding him in a chokehold on a New York City subway train car this month.
The law firm Raiser & Kenniff, P.C. launched the fund titled “Daniel Penny’s Legal Defense Fund” on the crowdfunding website GiveSendGo.
The description explains the fund’s cause, reading, “Daniel Penny is, a twenty-four-year-old college student and decorated Marine veteran, facing a criminal investigation stemming from him protecting individuals on an NYC subway train from an assailant who later died. Funds are being raised to pay Mr. Penny’s legal fees incurred from any criminal charges filed and any future civil lawsuits that may arise, as well as expenses related to his defense.”
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By Monday morning, the fund had raised more than $2.04 million.
On May 1, Penny was caught on camera placing 30-year-old Jordan Neely, a Black homeless man who was reportedly mentally ill, in a chokehold on a subway train.
A video taken by a freelance journalist that went viral showed about three minutes of the encounter, but witnesses report Penny had his arm around Neely’s neck for 15 minutes. Neely lost consciousness and was later pronounced dead at a hospital. A medical examiner ruled his death a homicide.
Witnesses also say that Neely looked to be having a mental health episode when he boarded the train but didn’t pose a physical threat to anyone around him. He was crying out for food and something to drink.
Penny turned himself in last week and faces a second-degree manslaughter charge for the death of Neely. He was released on a $100,000 cash bond. His next court date is on July 17. He could face up to 15 years in prison if found guilty.
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