Mayor Eric Adams defended Daniel Penny as a Manhattan jury on Tuesday began deliberating whether or not to convict him of choking a troubled homeless man to demise on the subway — insisting the Marine veteran was doing “what we should always have executed as a metropolis.”
Hizzoner mentioned he hoped jurors would “make the proper choice” within the lightning-rod case as he blasted the “failure” of the Large Apple’s psychological well being system for not doing extra to assist Jordan Neely within the lead as much as the deadly 2023 subway encounter.
“The younger man, on this case, was going inside our system, all through the revolving door of our system. Now, we’re on the subway the place we’re listening to somebody speaking about hurting individuals, killing individuals,” Adams mentioned Saturday on 710 WOR’s “The Rob Astorino Present.”
“You’ve gotten somebody on that subway who was responding, doing what we should always have executed as a metropolis in a state of getting a psychological well being facility,” he added.
“These passengers had been afraid. I’ve been on the subway system. I do know what it’s as a police officer to wrestle or combat with somebody. It’s crucial that we take a look at the totality of this drawback,” Adams mentioned.
Adams went on to say that he hoped jurors would “hear all of the info” as they think about whether or not the 26-year-old former Marine was justified in restraining 30-year-old Neely — who had a historical past of psychological sickness and drug abuse — following his outburst on the crowded F prepare prepare in Could final 12 months.
“Primarily based on all of the info that’s laid out, a jury of his friends will make the proper choice. I don’t need to prejudge that,” Adams mentioned of whether or not Penny must be discovered responsible of manslaughter and criminally negligent murder.
“That would have simply been a case the place you noticed three harmless individuals murdered on our road two weeks in the past,” he added, referring to a current lethal stabbing spree in Manhattan on Nov 18.
“We have now to acknowledge now we have a psychological well being disaster, and we’re not doing sufficient to unravel it.”
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