Daniel Penny not guilty of criminally negligent homicide in subway strangulation case

Daniel Penny was found not guilty of criminally negligent homicide for the death of Jordan Neely by a jury Monday.

The jury deliberated for more than 24 hours over five days before reaching the verdict.

The courtroom erupted in a mix of cheers and boos as soon as the verdict was read.

Neely’s father swore angrily shortly after the verdict and was forcibly removed from the courtroom by a court official. Others in the gallery screamed and one woman burst into tears.

“It’s a small world, buddy,” one man shouted.

“No justice in this fucking racist country,” said another.

Penny, exiting the courtroom, flashed a brief smile before returning to her stony demeanor. His lawyers hugged each other as they sat at the attorneys’ table.

The jury in Penny’s trial continued its deliberations Monday to determine whether he committed criminally negligent homicide when he placed Neely in a chokehold on a subway car last year, after the jury found itself in the impasse on the more serious manslaughter charge last week.

On Friday, at the request of prosecutors, Judge Maxwell Wiley dismissed the second-degree manslaughter charge — which carried a maximum sentence of 15 years — and ordered the jury to turn to the prosecution lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide, which carries a maximum sentence of four years. sentence. Neither crime carries a minimum sentence. Penny has pleaded not guilty to both charges.

“That means you are now free to consider count two. Whether that makes a difference or not, I have no idea,” Wiley said before sending the jury home for the weekend .

Prosecutors allege Penny killed Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man who had previously been a Michael Jackson impersonator, when he placed him in a six-minute chokehold on a subway train in May 2023, holding Neely for at least 51 years. seconds after his body went limp. Deputy District Attorney Dafna Yoran argued that Penny knew her actions could kill Neely, but continued to strangle her for “far too long” and “failed to recognize her humanity.”

The town medical examiner concluded that Penny’s strangulation killed Neely. The defense argued Neely died from a genetic disease and synthetic marijuana found in his system.

Defense attorney Steven Raiser told jurors that Penny “acted to save” subway passengers from a “violent and desperate” Neely, who was acting erratically and “scaring everyone.” Raiser argued that Neely was fighting back, and Penny continued to hold on because he feared breaking free, even though he had no intention of killing Neely.

Wiley denied a new motion for a mistrial filed Monday morning by Penny’s defense attorneys, who argued that dismissing the manslaughter charge would influence the jury’s verdict.

“There is no way to remedy the legal error that we believe occurred forcefully on Friday, and we renew our motion for a mistrial on the second remaining count,” Thomas said Kenniff, who said dismissal could result in a “coercive verdict.” “.

Wiley disagreed, quickly denying the motion as he did Friday when the defense twice unsuccessfully argued for a mistrial.

To avoid any possibility of influencing the jury, Wiley proposed issuing a new jury instruction explicitly stating that the court “is not directing you toward any particular verdict.”

Wiley also moved to instruct the jury to ignore chants from protesters outside the courthouse, including “Justice for Jordan Neely,” “Daniel Penny stranger to the subway” and “If we don’t get justice, they will not obtain peace.” ” – which the defense team refused because it could draw more attention to the chants.

For now, the chants have calmed down and are no longer audible in court. If they resume, Judge Wiley said he would consider issuing an instruction or moving the jury to another deliberation room.

Last week, the jury spent more than 23 hours over four days deliberating whether Penny, a 26-year-old former marine and architecture student, committed second-degree manslaughter before repeatedly reporting that he could not reach a unanimous verdict.

Wiley ultimately granted prosecutors’ request to dismiss the first count while Penny’s defense attorneys unsuccessfully pushed for a mistrial, arguing that continued deliberations could lead to a verdict ” coercive or compromised” by “pushing” jurors to convict on the less serious charge.

For involuntary manslaughter, it would have been necessary to prove that Penny had acted recklessly and had deviated significantly from the behavior of a reasonable person, while to prove criminally negligent homicide, the jury would have to be satisfied that Penny s was engaged in “reprehensible conduct” which, according to him, would not entail the risk of death.

Outside the court, protesters and counter-protesters gathered, with chants of “say his name” faintly audible in the 13th floor courtroom. As Penny entered the courthouse this morning, he was greeted with competing chants of “murderer” and “not guilty.”