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Marine vet Daniel Penny defense fund nears $3M in Jordan Neely chokehold death as DA tips hand on evidence
https://www.insider.com/daniel-penn...rdan-neely-chokehold-defense-donations-2023-8
Laura Italiano Sep 2, 2023, 8:50 AM EDT
Donations – and evidence – are piling up in the subway-chokehold homicide case against Daniel Penny.
Three months after his Manhattan arrest for the disturbing, caught-on-video death of homeless street performer Jordan Neely, nearly $3 million now sits in Penny's legal defense fund.
And more than 365 pieces of evidence – including police and prosecutor notes from interviews with 30 civilian witnesses, and thousands of pages from Neely's police and medical records – have been turned over to the defense, according to an evidence list in Penny's public court file.
"The average campaign is about $3,000," Jacob Wells, co-founder of GiveSendGo, the Christian fundraising platform, said of Penny's defense fund. "So this is 1,000 times the magnitude of what you would see in a normal campaign."
Lawyers say they'll use the cash to fight charges that the Marine veteran was reckless, or at least negligent, in using a fatal chokehold to subdue Neely, who witnesses and prosecutors say had verbally threatened passengers on a Manhattan subway train.
Money left over will cover the cost of any lawsuits, Penny's defense lawyer, Thomas Kenniff, told Insider.
Neely's family members contend – as do prosecutors – that Penny's chokehold was criminally excessive, continuing for more than two minutes after eyewitness video shows Neely stopped moving.
Lawyers for Neely's family did not respond to repeated requests for comment, but have told reporters they will file a wrongful death lawsuit. Whatever money is left over at the conclusion of Penny's civil and criminal cases "will be donated to a charity with a mental-health purpose to it," Kenniff said.
Penny's top donors reflect how boldface-named, ultra-conservatives have rallied to Penny's side, including GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy ($10,000), Kid Rock ($5,000), and right-wing podcaster Tim Poole ($20,000).
But the bulk of donations have been"forty, fifty dollars on average, and there are many thousands of them," said Kenniff. Many call Penny a hero in their donation posts, and invoke the Marine motto, "semper fi," meaning "always faithful."
"To me, that speaks louder than any single donation from someone with notoriety," Kenniff said of the flood of small and anonymous donations. "It speaks to the grass roots support that Danny is getting and how vulnerable and frustrated people are, that someone who steps forward to protect people finds the criminal justice system turned against them.
Meanwhile, throughout the spring and summer, prosecutors have been steadily turning over evidence to his lawyers, some of which may wind up helping Penny's case.
Prosecutors have, to date, interviewed 19 NYPD officers and two-dozen civilian witnesses — half of whom directly witnessed Neely's death, according to the evidence list.
The list does not show the actual interview notes or name those people who were interviewed. But it does show that prosecutors have interviewed one of the two other male subway passengers seen in video helping to restrain Neely during Penny's chokehold.
The man is identified in the record only as "Eyewitness #6."
The evidence list also includes something called "Eyewitness #6 proffer agreement," suggesting that at some point, this witness was at least offered some kind of deal by prosecutors. The potential deal is not described and, to date, no additional arrests have been announced in connection to the fatal chokehold.
A spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney's office declined to comment on the ongoing case.
The list offers a glimpse into the case against Penny, 24, who remains free on $100,000 bail.
https://www.insider.com/daniel-penn...rdan-neely-chokehold-defense-donations-2023-8
Laura Italiano Sep 2, 2023, 8:50 AM EDT
Donations – and evidence – are piling up in the subway-chokehold homicide case against Daniel Penny.
Three months after his Manhattan arrest for the disturbing, caught-on-video death of homeless street performer Jordan Neely, nearly $3 million now sits in Penny's legal defense fund.
And more than 365 pieces of evidence – including police and prosecutor notes from interviews with 30 civilian witnesses, and thousands of pages from Neely's police and medical records – have been turned over to the defense, according to an evidence list in Penny's public court file.
"The average campaign is about $3,000," Jacob Wells, co-founder of GiveSendGo, the Christian fundraising platform, said of Penny's defense fund. "So this is 1,000 times the magnitude of what you would see in a normal campaign."
Lawyers say they'll use the cash to fight charges that the Marine veteran was reckless, or at least negligent, in using a fatal chokehold to subdue Neely, who witnesses and prosecutors say had verbally threatened passengers on a Manhattan subway train.
Money left over will cover the cost of any lawsuits, Penny's defense lawyer, Thomas Kenniff, told Insider.
Neely's family members contend – as do prosecutors – that Penny's chokehold was criminally excessive, continuing for more than two minutes after eyewitness video shows Neely stopped moving.
Lawyers for Neely's family did not respond to repeated requests for comment, but have told reporters they will file a wrongful death lawsuit. Whatever money is left over at the conclusion of Penny's civil and criminal cases "will be donated to a charity with a mental-health purpose to it," Kenniff said.
Penny's top donors reflect how boldface-named, ultra-conservatives have rallied to Penny's side, including GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy ($10,000), Kid Rock ($5,000), and right-wing podcaster Tim Poole ($20,000).
But the bulk of donations have been"forty, fifty dollars on average, and there are many thousands of them," said Kenniff. Many call Penny a hero in their donation posts, and invoke the Marine motto, "semper fi," meaning "always faithful."
"To me, that speaks louder than any single donation from someone with notoriety," Kenniff said of the flood of small and anonymous donations. "It speaks to the grass roots support that Danny is getting and how vulnerable and frustrated people are, that someone who steps forward to protect people finds the criminal justice system turned against them.
Meanwhile, throughout the spring and summer, prosecutors have been steadily turning over evidence to his lawyers, some of which may wind up helping Penny's case.
Prosecutors have, to date, interviewed 19 NYPD officers and two-dozen civilian witnesses — half of whom directly witnessed Neely's death, according to the evidence list.
The list does not show the actual interview notes or name those people who were interviewed. But it does show that prosecutors have interviewed one of the two other male subway passengers seen in video helping to restrain Neely during Penny's chokehold.
The man is identified in the record only as "Eyewitness #6."
The evidence list also includes something called "Eyewitness #6 proffer agreement," suggesting that at some point, this witness was at least offered some kind of deal by prosecutors. The potential deal is not described and, to date, no additional arrests have been announced in connection to the fatal chokehold.
A spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney's office declined to comment on the ongoing case.
The list offers a glimpse into the case against Penny, 24, who remains free on $100,000 bail.
