On Monday, Daniel Penny was found not guilty of manslaughter in the strangling death of Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man with a history of mental illness. Neely’s final moments on the New York City subway were captured on bystander video for weeks. Protests became active and attracted national attention.
The decision came on the fifth day of deliberations after the jury deadlocked on the more serious manslaughter charge on Friday, leading the judge to dismiss it. Penny could face up to four years in prison.
Some people in the courtroom applauded when the jury foreman read the verdict of “not guilty.” Some people could hear sobbing and screaming, including Neely’s father, Andre Zachery, who was taken outside.
In response, one person said outside a lower Manhattan courtroom: “This is America. That’s the sound of black pain.”
I could hear cries echoing from outside: “No justice, no peace.”
The incident divided not only New Yorkers but also people outside of New York along political and racial lines. Neely was black. Penny is white. On May 1, 2023, when Neely was seen screaming and acting erratically while riding the Manhattan subway, some viewed Penny as callous and criminal for his actions. Some argue that Penny was selflessly trying to protect her friends. passenger.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said he respected the jury’s verdict. The jury spent about four days deliberating the manslaughter charge, then deliberated for about an hour on the manslaughter charge.
“Their lengthy deliberations and totality of the facts and evidence highlight why this case was presented to a jury of Mr. Penny’s colleagues,” Bragg said in a statement.
Before deliberating, the anonymous jury of seven women and five men said it would have to reach a unanimous decision on the top level of second-degree manslaughter before moving on to consider criminally negligent homicide. I was told. But Judge Maxwell Wiley changed that order Friday after jurors twice sent memos saying they could not reach an agreement.
The judge also instructed the jury to decide whether Penny’s actions caused Mr Neely’s death and, if so, whether he acted recklessly and unreasonably.
Before meeting Penny, Neely, a former Michael Jackson impersonator, had complained about being hungry and thirsty, saying he wanted to go back to prison and that he didn’t care whether he lived or died, witnesses said. testified. Penny, 26, a former Marine and Long Island native, put Neely in a chokehold that prosecutors said lasted nearly six minutes.
The New York City medical examiner ruled that Neely died from compression resulting from strangulation.
Neely’s uncle, Christopher Neely, said he was “surprised” when the verdict was announced, as he had expected the jury to convict her on at least the lesser charge.
“I hope they at least indict him because that should be some kind of penalty that should have been imposed in the Danny Penny era. They didn’t penalize him and I feel like the jury deserted us.” said Neely.
Donte Mills, an attorney representing Neely’s family, said at a news conference that supporters held up a photo of Neely dressed as Jackson and were disappointed in Monday’s ruling. Mills asked if Neely’s death had meaning and urged others to offer food to someone who might be hungry instead of getting physical with them.
“He had a muffin in his pocket,” Mills said of what police later found in Neely’s jacket. “Jordan just wanted someone to acknowledge her on the train, but instead she suffocated to death.”
Penny’s lawyers could not immediately be reached for comment on the verdict, but they told the judge on Monday that jurors could be influenced by protesters’ chants coming from outside the courthouse. expressed concern.
During the trial, Penny’s lawyer told jurors that he intervened because he thought Neely might attack other passengers and that he intended to detain him until police arrived, and that Penny also told police gave a statement. They also argued that Neely did not die from strangulation and that it was impossible to measure how much pressure Penny applied.
A forensic pathologist hired by the defense testified that Neely died from a combination of schizophrenia, synthetic marijuana, sickle cell trait, and the distress caused by Penny’s restraint. However, Dr. Cynthia Harris, the medical examiner who performed Neely’s autopsy, told jurors that it was her medical opinion that there was “no alternative reasonable explanation” for Neely’s death. He said what the defense suggested was “very unlikely.” On a par with the impossible. ”
During cross-examination, one of Penny’s attorneys, Stephen Reiser, tried to cast doubt on Harris’ testimony about how Penny and colleagues came to a unanimous decision about Neely’s cause of death. Mr. Reiser suggested that he may not have been able to consider all the facts before making that decision.
He revisited that argument in his closing argument last week.
“I accept that there was a hasty decision based on non-medical considerations,” he told jurors.
The incident also spurred debate about safety within the city’s subway system and its failure to address homelessness and mental illness, which Neely has struggled with. New York City Public Defender Jumaane Williams, a Black Democrat, was among those who questioned why police released Penny after questioning her at the police station hours after Neely’s murder. Fellow Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Neely was “murdered.” Prominent Republicans like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Matt Gaetz praised Penny and promoted a fundraiser for his legal fund, which raised more than $3 million. His legal team includes Republican Thomas Kenniff, who ran unsuccessfully for Manhattan district attorney in 2021.
Vice President-elect J.D. Vance told X after the verdict: “Justice was served in this case. It was a scandal that led to Penny being indicted in the first place.”
Prosecutors did not dispute that Neely’s actions on the train scared many passengers or that he was taking synthetic cannabinoids, which were found in his system. Assistant Attorney General Dafna Göran of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said in her opening statement that Neely “requested an interview,” did not touch anyone, and did not display or threaten to use a weapon. , said he had “requested meetings” with many people. On the subway, I was terrified of what he would do.
She said Penny’s “initial intentions were even admirable,” even though she posed no threat, including after the train doors opened at the next station and passengers were disembarked. He said it was reckless to continue strangling Zuneely. She said two other men helped restrain Neely for some time during that time, according to the video. One of them testified that he believed Penny held the chokehold for too long. Mr. Yolan said that at times he even ignored pleas from bystanders to release Mr. Neely. Yoran said in closing arguments that “no one had to die” and that Penny’s use of deadly physical force was not justified.
“They’re crazy, they’re verbally abusive, they look threatening, so obviously they can’t kill anyone,” Yolan told jurors in closing arguments. “It doesn’t matter what they say.”
She also said Penny could have “easily restrained” Neely without “suffocating him.”
In closing arguments, Reiser urged jurors to imagine they were on the train the day Neely boarded, “full of anger and not afraid of any consequences.”
“You’re sitting in this enclosed space just like you are right now, looking up at Mr. Neely,” he said. “There’s very little space to move and nowhere to run.”
Riser, whose defense attorneys referred to Penny as “Danny” during the trial, said he “risked his life” and stepped up in the absence of police.
However, Yoran objected to portraying Penny as a self-sacrificing and benevolent subway passenger. She said in her opening statement that Penny did not recognize Neely’s humanity. She continued that trend in her closing argument, playing a video of Penny twice calling Neely a “crackhead” during an interview with police and telling jurors that Penny never asked about Neely’s condition.
“There’s something else that’s clearly missing from his statement: any remorse. Any remorse. Any remorse,” she said. She further added, “He never expressed sadness over the man’s death.”
During deliberations, jurors were asked to rewatch bystander video of Penny restraining Neely, body camera video of responding officers, and video of Penny’s subsequent interview with two detectives at the precinct. Ta. They also asked that the medical examiner’s testimony regarding the issuance of the death certificate be reheard before Neely’s full toxicology report is completed. They also asked the judge to reread the definitions of recklessness and criminal negligence and provide those definitions in writing.
Penny chose not to testify. During the trial, jurors heard from more than 40 witnesses. Six people included a subway passenger who witnessed Penny restraining Neely, a police officer who responded to the scene, a Marine Corps instructor who taught Penny various chokehold techniques, two pathologists, a psychiatric expert, and others. Witnesses included two Marines, Penny’s mother and one of his sisters.
On Wednesday, Neely’s father charged Penny with negligent touching, assault and battery resulting in Neely’s death. The civil suit was filed in the New York State Supreme Court, New York’s first-tier court.
