Now and again, justice is vindicated and right triumphs over wrong.
With its “not guilty” verdict on Monday, a Manhattan jury unanimously sent a resounding message to District Attorney Alvin Bragg that he wrongfully prosecuted a good Samaritan. A man who courageously came to the aid of subway passengers who were threatened with imminent death. Not that Bragg will pay any heed.
The case against Marine veteran Daniel Penny should never have been brought. It was a gross injustice. By law, he was justified in using reasonable force —even lethal force— to subdue a maniac who vowed to murder riders the moment he entered a subway car. That man, Jordan Neely, initiated the confrontation and died as a result of his own menacing and illegal actions.
Instead of being commended, Penny was pilloried as a bigoted vigilante by the usual crowd of racial justice warriors who yearned to turn Neely’s death into another George Floyd outrage. Bragg, who sees everything through the prism of race and politics, was more than happy to do their bidding. At trial, his lead prosecutor referred to Penny as “the white man.” It was reprehensible.