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A man charged with manslaughter for the death of Jordan Neely, who he put in a chokehold in the New York City subway, has spoken out insisting that the killing was nothing to do with Neely's race.
The confrontation, which happened on May 1, was caught on film and shows Penny restraining Neely with the help of two other subway passengers.
Their actions came after Neely, who was homeless, had reportedly screamed threats and caused a nuisance to people on the subway.
Marine veteran, Penny, told the New York Post "I judge a person based on their character. I'm not a white supremacist," just a week after he was charged with second-degree manslaughter for Neely's death.
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Penny has even suggested that he would take action again if put in a situation with similar circumstances.
He told the Post: "I would - if there was a threat and danger in the present..."
Neely's funeral was held on Friday in Harlem. Reverend Al Sharpton gave a eulogy to a crow of hundreds, where he said: "When they choked Jordan, they put their arms around all of us."
Penny is currently free on a $100,000 bail and denies the suggestion that his actions, that caused Jordan's fatality, were an act of hatred or discrimination. He said: "This had nothing to do with race."
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"You can tell by my past and all my travels and adventures around the world. I was actually planning a road trip through Africa before this happened," said Penny.
"I'm a normal guy," he continued, insisting that he is not a white supremacist.
Penny is facing up to 15 years in prison for placing Neely in a chokehold. The incident has caused uproar and has divided opinions with conservative politicians defending Penny whilst liberals are labelling him as a murderer and are calling for him to be imprisoned.
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Penny told the Post that he's not been watching the news and has tried not to let any negative opinions of him affect him.
He explained his reasoning, saying: "If you're faced with all these challenges, you have to remain calm.
"What's the point of worrying about something? Worrying is not going to make your problems disappear. I attribute this to my father and grandfather. They are very very stoic."
Penny, who also doesn't use social media has been avoiding the negative attention.
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Neely's family have called for Penny's sentence to be changed to murder. The Post asked Penny what he would like to say to the family, to which he responded: "I'm deeply saddened by the loss of life.
"It's tragic what happened to him. Hopefully, we can change the system that's so desperately failed us," said Penny.
Topics: Crime, US News, Daniel Penny, Jordan Neely