The New York Post reports that former Marine Daniel Penny has been found not guilty in Jordan Neely’s subway death. The more serious charge of manslaughter was thrown out and the jury found him not guilty of the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide. Needless to say this verdict is good news, a win for sane and law-abiding folk.
Neely’s family have filed a civil suit against Penny seeking monetary damages. It is unclear to what extent that suit will be impeded by this “good Samaritan” verdict. Neely’s death was the result of an evil policy choice - repeatedly noted here at COTTonLINE - to cease most carceral treatment for mental illness.
New York’s mayor has noted that Neely slipped through the cracks in the city’s mental health system. Neely was the sadly typical, diagnosed-but-untreated psychotic person - self-medicated on street drugs - at the time of his death.
