The jury has begun deliberations on the manslaughter case of Daniel Penny. He is a 26-year-old Marine veteran accused of recklessly choking out Jordan Neely. Jordan was a homeless 30-year-old man who barged into a Manhattan subway car yelling death threats.
Penny arrived at the Manhattan courthouse Tuesday morning for the final day of prosecutors’ closing arguments as protesters chanted “Guilty!” through a megaphone.
Video shows Penny, flanked by his lawyers, fixing his suit jacket, looking straight ahead, without acknowledging protesters or journalists outside the courthouse.
Dafna Yoran, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney, finished her closing argument shortly before noon. The judge then read the jury instructions following a short break.
Penny could face a maximum 15-year prison sentence if she is convicted of the manslaughter charge. He is also charged with criminally negligent murder.
Jurors said that they could only convict Penny of the lesser offense if they found Penny not guilty of manslaughter for “some other reason than lack of justification.” They were instructed to not render a verdict on the lesser charge if they found him guilty of manslaughter. If they found him not guilty because the prosecutors did not prove beyond a doubt that Penny’s actions were not justified, they told them they had to also find him guilty of criminally negligent homicide if they found him not guilty of manslaughter.
They asked the judge, shortly after starting deliberations to read instructions on how justification is done.
Yoran addressed the protesters as she slowed down.
She said, “The defense wants you to believe that the chief medical examiner in New York is committing fraud because there are a few protesters outside. I could go on for hours about how ridiculous and insulting all of this is.”
The defense objected and told the judge that it had never claimed there was a conspiracy of mass proportions.
Neely, at the time of the incident in May 2023, was high on K2, which witnesses described as synthetic marijuana that had an effect similar to cocaine. He was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and had a long criminal record. An arrest warrant was also active.
He got on the train and threw his jacket to the ground. He then began to make death threats. He said he was not afraid of dying, going back to prison or spending the rest of his life in jail.
Penny snatched him behind him in a headlock and wrestled him down to the floor. She then held him, with the assistance of another passenger. He spoke to police on his own accord and remained at the accident scene. He was let go. Penny was arrested 11 days after the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced his indictment.
The City Medical Examiner’s Office blamed the chokehold for his death. Defense expert Dr. Satish Chendru, a Texas forensic pathologist, countered the claim that Neely died from a combination caused by his drug use, a genetic disorder known as the sickle cell trait, and the physical exertion he endured in the fight with Penny.
Penny’s Defense Fund has now surpassed $3.2 million despite the angry mob outside. Donations have continued to pour in even as late as Tuesday morning.
