Justice for Jordan Neely!

Killer of homeless Black man goes free

Black Lives Don’t Matter was the message given by a New York City court as the killer of Jordan Neely, Daniel Penny, was set free on Dec. 9. The white martial arts expert Penny knew what he was doing as he took six minutes strangling the Black homeless man Neely to death. 

The killing took place within a subway car in Manhattan on May 1, 2023. Police let Penny go free. Only the anger of the people forced the District Attorney to bring charges.

Jordan Neely’s father, Andre Zachery, was righteously angry at the license to kill given to Penny and every other white vigilante. Supporters of the killer had raised $3 million for Penny’s lawyers.

The December 12th Movement called two rallies on Dec. 10 to protest. “Jordan Neely was murdered because he was Black, poor and America had made him mentally ill,” read the December 12th Movement’s statement. “All these are capital crimes in this country, which upholds one God — Profit.”

Reparations lawyer Roger Wareham, a member of D12’s International Secretariat, denounced the killer’s acquittal.

Wareham compared it to the U.S. Supreme Court’s notorious pro-slavery Dred Scott ruling in 1857. That court then declared, “Black people have no rights that white men are bound to respect.”

Jordan Neely — a homeless man who needed help — got no respect and was instead choked to death. As one protester’s sign stated, “Jordan Neely deserved to love.”

Former New York State assembly person and City Council member Charles Barron also attacked the killer’s exoneration. Following the evening rally, people marched to Wall Street, whose wealth began with slavery.