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Did Good Samaritans Deadlock the Danial Penny Jury?
In 2023, a fatal encounter occurred aboard a New York subway train when Daniel Penny, a 24-year-old white marine veteran, used a chokehold to restrain Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old homeless, mentally ill black man. Neely died, and Penny was arrested.
After video of the incident went viral, right-wing commentators argued that Penny would not get a fair trial in New York because Alvin Bragg, Manhattan’s first black district attorney, was a progressive prosecutor who was “soft on criminals.” Bragg would paint Penny as a murderer and Neely as harmless, despite Neely’s lengthy criminal record and threatening actions on the subway train.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis tweeted, “We stand with good Samaritans like Danial Penny.”
DeSantis used the term “Good Samaritan” as if it meant defending others, which is not what the Good Samaritan did in the New Testament. The parable begins with a man who has been beaten, robbed, and left for dead. Two men noticed the injured man but did nothing to help. Then a Samaritan came across the injured man, bandaged his wounds, took him to an inn, and paid the innkeeper to care for him.
It’s vital to remember that Jesus told this parable in response to a lawyer’s question. The lawyer knew he was supposed to treat his neighbor as he would like to be treated, but he wanted to know who his neighbor was. After telling the parable, Jesus asked the lawyer…