Jordan Neely was ‘crying for help’, Al Sharpton says in tribute | Jordan Neely

Reverend Al Sharpton told friends, family and civil rights leaders who gathered to pay tribute to the former Michael Jackson impersonator who died on the New York subway. I was screaming,” he said.

In recent years, Neely, who suffered from mental illness and was homeless, died after being held down by passengers. A fellow subway passenger pinned Neely to the floor of the subway car and suffocated him for several minutes. Neely’s death has caused a stir. fresh discussion About vigilante activities, homelessness, Racism and the security of the city.

At a funeral at a church in Harlem on Friday, Sharpton lashed out at vigilantes and called for more support for the man’s family.

“What happened to Jordan is a crime and there is no need for this family to stand on its own,” he said. new york The politician and civil rights activist said at a service attended by officials including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

The deadly fight was captured on video by onlookers, and Neely, 30, who is black, said he was screaming on a subway train, begging for money, but didn’t attack anyone. .

The man who held and suffocated Neely last week Daniel PennyA white veteran, he was indicted for manslaughter by the Manhattan District Attorney. Penny’s lawyers argued that Penny acted to protect herself and other passengers after Neely made threatening statements.

Penny, 24, kept Neely in a chokehold long after he stopped moving, and at least one rider begged him to release the man. Neely was found unconscious by police and pronounced dead at a hospital. The city coroner ruled Neely’s death a homicide.

On Friday morning in black-majority Harlem, a city steeped in civil rights history, Sharpton told mourners that Neely’s life should be celebrated, “but we ignore the way he died.” shouldn’t,” he said.

Speaking at the Mount Nebault Baptist Church in Harlem, Mr Sharpton said Mr Neely died “not of natural causes, but of unnatural policies”.

Killing Neely and Killing Penny subsequent arrest And the court arraignment didn’t come until nearly two weeks after Neely’s death, polarizing New Yorkers and the rest of the world.

Many said Penny immediately wielded unwarranted lethal violence against a black man who posed no real threat. Demonstrations erupted on New York subways and streets days after Neely was killed.

Others argued that Penny should not have been punished because he was trying to protect people on the train, an argument that is part of a growing right-wing trend. loudly defend and even defend penny.

Sharpton said Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is running for the White House, called Penney a “good Samaritan” last week and shared a link to a fundraiser for Penney’s legal defense. pointed out.

Sharpton said the parable of the Good Samaritan is about helping those in need.

“Good Samaritans help those in need,” says Sharpton. “They don’t smother him.”

Neely had a history of sabotage, but friends said they believed Penny would have harmed no one if he had left him alone.

“People continue to criminalize people who need help,” Sharpton said. “They don’t need abuse, they need help.”

Hundreds of local lawmakers, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and New York Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado, attended the funeral. The funeral was held at the same church where Neely’s mother, Christy Neely, was held after her murder. Jordan was 14 years old.