In his first public statement, a lawyer representing Daniel Penny, the ex-Marine caught on video strangling Jordan Neely to death on the New York subway, said Penny “never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death.” The statement from lawyer Thomas Kenniff came two days after Penny killed Neely, a homeless man with a history of mental illness, by keeping him in a chokehold for nearly 15 minutes. “When Mr. Neely began aggressively threatening Daniel Penny and the other passengers, Daniel, with the help of others, acted to protect themselves, until help arrived,” the statement said. Penny was briefly taken into custody by police on Wednesday but was subsequently released without charges. “For too long, those suffering from mental illness have been treated with indifference. We hope that out of this awful tragedy will come a new commitment by our elected officials to address the mental health crisis on our streets and subways,” the statement finished.
NEW: first statement from Thomas Kenniff, lawyer for Daniel Penny, claiming his client was threatened along with other passengers and “never intended to harm” Jordan Neely, who died at Penny’s hands: pic.twitter.com/dWmCr6Kwhw
