Nearly $2million has been raised by supporters of former marine Daniel Penny, who has been charged with second-degree manslaughter over the death of homeless man Jordan Neely on the New York subway.
Penny, 24, stepped in to apprehend Neely who, according to witness accounts, was acting erratically and threatening other passengers during a May 1 ride on an F train in Manhattan.
The marine veteran put Neely in a chokehold for several minutes, while others on the train also helped to restrain him, but the 30-year-old died of what the city medical examiner ruled a homicide, noting he died due to “compression of neck (chokehold).”
Penny was subsequently charged with second-degree manslaughter for allegedly choking and killing the former street performer with a long history of mental illness and was released on $100,000 bail.
Penny’s attorneys launched the GiveSendGo campaign on his behalf, and they said he didn’t intend to kill Neely and was merely trying to defend himself and fellow passengers from a threatening homeless man.
READ MORE: Ukraine leaves Putin red-faced as it shoots down ‘unstoppable’ Russian missile
The ‘Legal Defense Fund’ for Penny had eclipsed $1.8 million in donations by Sunday evening (May 14), with his attorney Steven M. Raiser saying that his client’s case had “struck a chord” with people across the country.
“The outpouring of support for Danny is always measured by the amount raised, but what is even more telling is that tens of thousands of people from all over the world have taken the time to donate,” Raiser, wrote in an email to the New York Post.
“This level of support demonstrates that the situation forced upon him in that subway car earlier this month, and his subsequent arrest, has struck a chord in the psyche of New Yorkers and has been echoed nationwide.
“The message being sent by this massive showing of support is that any attempt to undermine the right and duty to protect one another against an imminent threat will be challenged.”
The money raised by the GiveSendGo campaign will go to Penny’s defence team at Raiser & Kenniff, according to the page.
Raiser added that the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg must now try to secure a grand jury indictment before the case can proceed.
Proper who donated the fund gave their back to Penny, with one donor saying: “This guy is a hero in my eyes. He should get a medal for what he did not jail time.
“We need to take our City back. God bless this guy for trying to help.”
Neely’s family, though, want Penny tried for murder.
“He never attempted to help at all,” the Neely family’s attorneys, Donte Mills and Lennon Edward, wrote last week in a statement. “You cannot ‘assist’ someone with a chokehold.”
