Fox News host Geraldo Rivera said Friday that the Marine veteran facing manslaughter charges in the chokehold death of Jordan Neely on a New York City subway “has a good defense.”
Neely, 30, died after being restrained by 24-year-old Daniel Penny, May 1. Penny surrendered to face charges of second-degree manslaughter Friday.
“His attorneys will surely invoke self-defense. Self-defense allows that a person using deadly force may not only prove they feared for their lives or someone else’s life, but that they were reasonable in their conduct. In other words, was Daniel Penny reasonable in his use of force to stop Jordan Neely?” Rivera told “Fox & Friends” co-host Ainsley Earhardt. “Now Jordan Neely was an aggressive homeless person, over 40 arrests, he had an outstanding warrant for an assault – an alleged assault — on a 67-year-old woman that was still outstanding, so he should not have even been on the streets.”
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Neely reportedly boarded the train and acted aggressively towards passengers before Penny and at least one other individual intervened, according to video clips of the incident posted on social media.
Neely had been arrested over 40 times and was the subject of a warrant for felony assault at the time of the Monday incident, CBS News reported. His death was ruled a homicide by the New York City medical examiner’s office.
“I think the Marine has a vigorous defense,” River said.
“My problem with what he did, though, as a veteran street fighter, is did he go too far? Was there a point where Jordan Neely was subdued, where Daniel Penny could have stopped his chokehold and let Jordan Neely live?” Rivera asked. “So I think that will be the question, whether or not a reasonable person would have held that chokehold on Jordan Neely, as bad as he was, for as long as he did? I think that question of reasonableness, Ainsley, will be key to this case.”
“However, the marine has a good defense, the question is whether he stopped soon enough,” Rivera said.
“If you see harm being done to someone on the subway or on the streets, it is hard to step back and allow the violence to happen,” Earhardt said. “Most people would step in and be good samaritans and try and help the other person. Now people will stop because they will be nervous something can happen to them.”
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