Letters to the Editor — June 19, 2023
The Issue: The possible ramifications of the indictment of Daniel Penny for placing Jordan Neely in a hold.
The radical left has led our city’s moral compass into the Bermuda Triangle, and we’re sinking (“Penny arraign skedded,” June 16).
Bail reform has spawned a groundswell of crime. The rogue wave of immigration has turned our city’s priorities upside down.
But the fact that Daniel Penny might spend 19 years in prison if convicted of coming to the aid of others is an absolute travesty.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and the radical left would prefer filling our prisons with the good guys, instead of those who knowingly and repeatedly break our laws.
Donathan Salkaln
Manhattan
Comparisons are being made regarding the recent subway slayings, involving Devictor Ouedraogo and Jordan Williams (“J-train ‘defender’ is freed,” June 16) as well as Jordan Neely and Daniel Perry.
The defendants in both cases, Williams and Penny, claimed that they were defending themselves and other subway riders against troubled individuals.
However, there is one major difference: Williams used a knife. The obvious intent here would be to inflict bodily harm. Penny used his hands and arms in an apparent attempt to restrain the harasser.
Frank Brady
Yonkers
So Penny was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury. What a surprise.
Penny, an ex-Marine who proudly served his country, should be given a ticker-tape parade instead of an indictment.
He stepped up to protect fellow citizens from serious harm. Bragg, the criminal-protecting Manhattan district attorney, is at least consistent. He regularly goes after stand-up citizens who are productive in the world.
Bragg protects the criminals and goes after the law-abiding citizens. Wake up, all my fellow New Yorkers. Come election time, you all know what you need to do: Vote him out.
Gene O’Brien
Whitestone
The Bible warns about a time when misbehavior is rewarded and goodness is punished. The indictment of Penny is a perfect example.
Neely’s defenders are conveniently forgetting his 42 prior arrests. They also forget the innocent subway riders, who deserve to be protected, not intimidated.
Yes, we need to find solutions for the mentally ill, but we also need to protect the innocent, which is what Penny was doing.
Susan Davis
Astoria
Penny is a man who served his country in the Marines, and who probably saved the health and even the lives of strangers on a subway train.
For his bravery, he is rewarded with an indictment for manslaughter by Bragg.
If I had been in that subway car, I would thank God that Penny was there, rather than a disgrace like Bragg.
Saul Mishaan, Brooklyn
Legal protections of our rights have improved dramatically in recent decades, as have race elations.
That said, we will never be able to truly live in a just society when race-baiters like Al Sharpton pounce on every white-on-black incident indiscriminately.
The indictment of Penny for the death of the mentally ill, threatening subway rider is a travesty, notwithstanding the tragic outcome.
Sharpton should spend more time worrying about the safety of subway riders — black and white.
Yakov Moshe
Brooklyn
Gov. Hochul should fire Bragg today. We have a prosecutor who simply loves criminals and hates everyone else.
His message is loud and clear: Do not try to help anyone, or I will arrest you.
Carol Meltzer
Manhattan
What a sad day for American justice. Passengers were faced with the threat of injury and possibly death, and a good Samaritan jumped into action to protect the vulnerable. Tragically, a young man with a very troubled past died as a result.
Please ask yourself: If your mother was sitting in a subway car, who would you rather have in the same car: Daniel Penny or Jordan Neely?
Scott W. Ventrella
Ridgefield, Conn.
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