Apparently one of the guys helping Penny hold Neely down said something about letting go of his neck. Obviously hard to say exactly what it was or whether it rose to the level of telling Penny to let go.

But yeah, I don't think colour has much bearing in any direction here. I'm sure you could find a dozen cases where this felony murder rule isn't applied perfectly or consistently. Completely agreed about Neely being locked up though. it's insane that he was on the streets.