Topline
Jury deliberations for ex-Marine Daniel Penny’s manslaughter trial started Tuesday afternoon and continued into Thursday, as the politically divisive case has drawn widespread controversy after Penny used a chokehold on a homeless Black man on a New York City subway car in 2023.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 03: Daniel Penny returns to the courtroom after a break during his … [+]
Key Facts
Penny’s trial revolves around an altercation on the New York City subway in May of 2023 that was recorded and later went viral, leading to Penny being charged with the manslaughter of Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old Black homeless man and former street performer, after a six-minute-long chokehold.
The chokehold death resulted in an investigation from the city and a homicide ruling from the city’s medical examiner, Penny was charged with second-degree manslaughter by New York prosecutors, then a month later a New York City grand jury indicted Penny for manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.
Dozens of witnesses have testified in the seven-week-long trial, with the jury starting the deliberation process Tuesday afternoon after closing arguments.
Prosecutors argue that Penny remorselessly and recklessly “went too far” in protecting himself against Neely, who witnesses say was scaring people and yelling on the train.
The defense has argued Penny was protecting the train against Neely’s “aggressively threatening” and “unhinged rage,” and that Penny’s chokehold was not forceful enough to cause Neely’s death.
Penny, who is free on a $100,000 bond, could be imprisoned for 15 years on the manslaughter conviction and for 4 years on the negligence conviction.
Penny is a 26-year-old student studying architecture in New York City after serving four years in the U.S. Marines as an infantry squad leader until 2021, according to his LinkedIn.
Key Background
The event—found initially through the video’s viral spread online—ignited protests and became polarizing, especially in the days before Penny was charged. Civil rights activists and advocates for those struggling with homelessness demanded action against Penny. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez described the situation in an X post as murder, saying people shouldn’t “look the other way.” Meanwhile, conservatives like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy and Kid Rock have deemed Penny a “good samaritan” and a hero practicing self-defense. Defenders of Penny have also donated more than $3 million collectively through a conservative fundraising website for Penny’s legal expenses. New York City Mayor Eric Adams described the case on 710 WOR’s “The Rob Astorino Show” on Nov. 30 as “multi-faceted” problem related to a “mental health crisis.”
Chief Critic
Moses Harper, an acquaintance with Neely, told CNN in May that Neely fought mental illness throughout his life and experienced trauma from the death of his mother, who was murdered in 2007. Neely was highly listed on a New York City watch list maintained by city officials and social service organizations for struggling individuals and had an arrest warrant out in his name when he boarded the subway train. Juan Alberto Vazquez, who was on the train with Penny and Neely in May, told CNN that Neely was disturbing the train, shouting that he had no food and didn’t care if he died, but did not seem to have any weapons.
Crucial Quote
“I do want to acknowledge how horrific it was to view a video of Jordan Neely being killed for being a passenger on the subway trains. There had to be consequences, and so we’ll see how this unfolds. But his family deserves justice,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said to reporters in May.
Tangent
In the midst of jury deliberations, Neely’s father added another potential legal challenge for Penny. Andre Zachary filed a pending civil lawsuit against Penny in the New York Supreme Court on Wednesday, seeking damages and alleging Penny committed assault and battery against Neely. Steven Raiser, Penny’s attorney, shared a statement with the Associated Press on Thursday calling the lawsuit “unfortunate” because “Danny is awaiting a verdict from the jury where the potential consequences are far greater than any civil suit could threaten,” adding that it is an “attempt to attack Danny while he is under such tremendous stress.”
