Sister of ex-Marine charged in subway chokehold death testifies to his ‘calm’ spirit and patriotism

Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Defense attorneys began their defense of a former U.S. Marine charged with fatally choking a homeless man aboard a Manhattan subway by calling the defendant’s older sister to the witness stand. Jacqueline Penny said Monday that her brother was a “calm, soft-spirited person” with a patriotic sense of duty. Daniel Penny faces manslaughter charges in the death of Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man. Prosecutors say Neely was acting erratically but non-violently on the train when Penny threw him to the ground and placed him in a chokehold for six minutes. Lawyers for Penny counter that their client showed courage as he worked to neutralize the man.