(DailyAnswer.org) – On Tuesday’s episode of The View, co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Sunny Hostin shared their frustration with the recent acquittal of Daniel Penny. Penny, a former Marine, was found not guilty of negligent homicide in the 2023 subway death of Jordan Neely, a homeless man. The case has drawn national attention and sparked heated debates about mental health, public safety, and accountability.
Goldberg criticized Penny and his legal team for celebrating the verdict at a bar shortly after the decision. “I don’t know that seeing them celebrating in a bar made me comfortable,” she said. “The man is dead. Maybe you take the celebration home. But that’s just me.”
Penny, now 26, was charged after he placed Neely in a chokehold on a crowded New York subway train. Neely, 30, had entered the train shouting about his hunger and thirst, saying he didn’t care if he lived or died. Reports suggest he was under the influence of synthetic marijuana and had a history of mental health struggles, compounded by the trauma of his mother’s murder years earlier.
Hostin argued the jury made the wrong decision, questioning whether Neely posed a real danger to anyone that day. “There’s no evidence he attacked or touched anyone on the train,” she said. “He talked about being hungry and desperate. Where is our compassion as a society?”
Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin offered a counterpoint, noting Neely’s past incidents of aggression. Still, Hostin maintained that the passengers couldn’t have known Neely’s history at the time. She reiterated that he didn’t act threateningly during the incident.
Goldberg expanded on the broader failures surrounding the tragedy. “There’s failure all over here,” she said. “Failure of the system, the courts, the hospitals, and even society in how we handle mental health and homelessness.”
The segment ended with the co-hosts reflecting on how Neely’s life had spiraled due to systemic neglect. “His mother’s murder shattered him,” Hostin concluded. “It’s a tragic story, and it shows how far we still have to go to treat people with dignity and care.”
As debates continue, this case highlights ongoing questions about justice, mental health support, and compassion in the face of complex social issues.
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