GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) should pardon Daniel Penny, who was arrested in relation to the killing of Jordan Neely on a New York City subway earlier this month.
Haley, a former ambassador to the United Nations, said in an interview on Fox News on Tuesday that Penny, a 24-year-old Marine veteran, saw danger in the situation and was trying to protect himself and others around him.
Penny pinned Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man who had a history with mental illness, to the floor of a subway on May 1 after Neely apparently began yelling at passengers and acting erratically and in an aggressive manner. Witnesses have said Neely said he was hungry and thirsty and did not care if he went to jail or died but was not physically threatening anyone.
Penny held Neely in a chokehold for about 15 minutes, causing Neely to lose consciousness. He was pronounced dead shortly after at a hospital.
Penny has been charged with second-degree manslaughter in relation to Neely’s death.
Haley slammed Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for charging Penny in the case, saying that Bragg is allowing crime to happen throughout the city but is going after someone who acted naturally to “defend and protect.”
“Really, what I think needs to happen — the governor needs to pardon Penny. No question about it. She needs to pardon him right away. It’s the right thing to do,” she said.
Penny was formally charged about a week and a half after the incident happened. Neely’s death, which a medical examiner ruled a homicide caused by compression to the neck, has sparked protests demanding accountability and called attention to race relations as Penny is white and Neely was Black.
Some have also defended Penny’s actions, arguing that he was only trying to defend those around him and himself.
“If she pardons him, that sets it right on a lot of things. It’ll put criminals on notice, and it’ll let people like Penny who really were very brave in that instance, it will let them know that we’ve got their back,” Haley said.
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