More than two decades ago, a killing in the subways shocked New Yorkers and led to the passage of Kendra’s Law, a state statute that allowed courts to mandate that severely mentally ill people undergo what is known as assisted outpatient treatment.
The law has been the recipient of renewed focus in recent weeks, as New Yorkers grapple with the killing of Jordan Neely, who was in the midst of a mental health breakdown on a subway train when he was apprehended by a former Marine named Daniel Penny who placed him in a chokehold he reportedly maintained for 15 minutes.
Some on the right have celebrated Penny’s actions as legitimate self-defense in a purportedly anarchic world, while others see Neely’s death as racist vigilante justice meted out with little regard for the law (Penny is white; Neely was Black). But many New Yorkers simply want to know how such encounters can be prevented in the future.
Last week, Mayor Eric Adams offered an expansion of Kendra’s Law as one answer. Although it is not clear whether the law in its current form had ever applied to Neely, two years ago he agreed to a plea deal following an assault under conditions identical to what Kendra’s Law stipulates.
https://news.yahoo.com/jordan-neely-andrew-goldstein-and-kendras-law-090007499.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall
