'Man in the Mirror' revisits 2023 NYC subway killing of an unhoused man : NPR

Key Points:

• Jordan Neely, an unhoused Black man known for his Michael Jackson impersonations, was killed on a NYC subway by Daniel Penny, a white former Marine, who put him in a chokehold for six minutes after Neely appeared to be in crisis and threatening passengers.
• Journalist Anand Giridharadas spent over two years investigating the incident, highlighting how both Neely and Penny felt abandoned by social and law enforcement systems, leading to Penny's vigilante action and Neely's tragic death.
• In December 2024, Penny was acquitted of criminally negligent homicide after a jury deadlocked on a manslaughter charge; following the verdict, he received public support from political figures and a high-profile job offer in Silicon Valley.
• Giridharadas explores the broader societal issues of systemic abandonment and its impact on individuals, noting that both men’s backgrounds reflect complex social dynamics, including Neely's struggles with the criminal justice and rehabilitation system and Penny's upbringing in a Long Island suburb with ambivalent ties to NYC.
• The case became highly politicized, with Penny embraced by right-wing supporters as a symbol of taking action amid perceived system failures, while parallels were drawn on the left with other vigilante acts, underscoring a widespread feeling of societal abandonment across political divides.