Ex-Marine indicted for NYC subway chokehold death of homeless man

A grand jury in New York has indicted a former US Marine, following an incident in which the Marine was filmed putting a homeless man in a fatal chokehold on a subway train. Prosecutors charged Daniel Penny with second-degree manslaughter for the death of street performer Jordan Neely. The grand jury decision allows prosecutors to officially charge Penny, who claims he acted in self-defence during the 1 May altercation.

US media reported the indictment after receiving information from unnamed police officials. Neely’s family was informed of the grand jury’s decision, and a lawyer for them told CBS News that the formal charging document would be revealed at a later date. If convicted of second-degree manslaughter, Penny could face up to 15 years in prison.

After Neely’s death, the 24-year-old ex-Marine was arrested on 12 May but initially police allowed him to leave the scene. He was handcuffed and led into a police station before being released on a US$100,000 cash bail. On 1 May, Penny addressed the incident in a video released on social media, insisting he did not mean to kill Neely, a homeless man aged 30 who was reportedly shouting at subway passengers prior to their confrontation.

“We’re actually taught one of our core values is courage, and courage is not the absence of fear but how you handle fear,” Penny said in the video. He explained that he felt compelled to confront Neely, who was acting erratically towards passengers and yelling threats. “I was scared for myself but I looked around there were women and children, he was yelling in their faces saying these threats. I just couldn’t sit still.”

A freelance journalist captured footage of the incident, showing Penny holding Neely around the neck for two minutes and 55 seconds. In the video he released, Penny explained that the whole interaction lasted less than five minutes and that he initially took his headphones out to hear what Neely was yelling. “The three main threats that he repeated over and over were ‘I’m going to kill you,’ ‘I’m prepared to go to jail for life,’ and ‘I’m willing to die.'”

Neely’s family argues that the second-degree manslaughter charge should be upgraded to murder. The incident has shocked the city, raising questions about public transit safety and how mentally ill homeless individuals in New York are treated.