Daniel Penny's attorney says Jordan Neely chokehold case should not be politicized
NEW YORK -- The attorney for Daniel Penny, the Marine veteran charged with putting Jordan Neely in a deadly chokehold, is speaking out.
In an interview with CNN on Monday night, Thomas Kenniff said he and his client don't want the case to be politicized. While many will argue against that, he said the defense just wants to prove that Penny took the right actions.
"There's nothing political about this case. My client is not a political person," Kenniff said.
The attorney for Penny, 24, hinted there is more to the story that left his client facing a second-degree manslaughter charge.
"There has been some video that is out. It's not all out. There is more to come," Kenniff said. "I am confident that everything that will come out will show that my client took reasonable steps to restrain someone."
READ MORE: Debate around Jordan Neely's death rages on with arguments for and against charging Daniel Penny
On May 1, witnesses say Neely, who was homeless and reportedly begging for food, was threatening and screaming at passengers onboard an "F" train. Penny was then seen putting Neely in a chokehold for several minutes. Neely later died and his death was ruled a homicide. Penny was questioned by police and released.
"Certainly anyone who rides the subway, can, I think, empathize and relate to the sort of situation that my client was confronted with and, sadly, become more prolific in recent years," Kenniff said.
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office says it still plans to send the case to a grand jury. A felony charge would require an indictment.
Last week, Neely's attorney, Donte Mills, appeared on CNN, too.
"There is an assumption that if you have mental illness, if you're houseless, that there is something wrong with you and that you're a bad person," Mills said.
Mills said Neely never recovered from the death of his mother.
"When he was 14, his mother was killed when he was in the house. She was strangled to death, but he didn't know. Her boyfriend said, 'Don't come in here. She is sleeping,'" Mills said.
Penny was released on bond and did not have to enter a plea. If convicted on the manslaughter charge, he could spend 15 years in prison.