MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough slams ‘progressives’ over ‘laws that allow homelessness’ after Daniel Penny ruling

MSNBC host Joe Scarborough blasted “progressives” on Tuesday for supporting “laws that allow homelessness” as he reacted to Daniel Penny’s not guilty verdict.

Penny, a 26-year-old Navy veteran, was acquitted of manslaughter by a Manhattan jury Monday in the death of Jordan Neely on a New York City subway last year.

After Neely, a 30-year-old homeless street artist struggling with mental health issues, allegedly began acting erratically on a subway car, Penny grabbed him from behind and took him to the floor in a chokehold that lasted several minutes, according to witnesses. and video footage.

“The fact that some progressives have said, basically, ‘Let’s pass laws that allow homelessness,'” a skeptical Scarborough said Tuesday morning on “Morning Joe.”

“You look in San Francisco, you look in Los Angeles. As we’ve said all along, there’s nothing compassionate about it. There is nothing progressive about this, leaving people with mental health problems on the streets, no!”

The case divided New York City residents on topics such as mental health issues and race relations.

Dozens of Black Lives Matter protesters demonstrated outside the courthouse as they awaited the jury’s verdict.

“The mental health system in this country, again, is woefully inadequate,” Scarborough said. “Whether you’re talking about New York, whether you’re talking about Florida, whether you’re talking about California, you have people walking the streets who have mental health issues.”

Scarborough argued that the US needs to invest more in mental health resources.

“We need to spend more money as a society looking after those with mental health challenges and not just saying, ‘Yes, you can live on the streets,'” he said. “Bad things happen.”

Penny’s not guilty verdict came after more than 20 hours of jury deliberations and the dismissal of a more serious charge of murder.

During the four-week trial, prosecutors argued that Penny was “criminally reckless” and went “too far” by holding Neely in a nearly six-minute choke hold, even after he appeared to be motionless.

Defense attorneys said Penny was “fully justified” in detaining Neely, who witnesses said was frightening passengers.

They also questioned whether there was enough evidence that Neely died of drowning, citing his schizophrenia, drug use and a genetic health condition.