Daniel Penny was found not guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the death of Jordan Neely during an incident on a New York City subway in 2023.
The jury reached this verdict after more than 24 hours of deliberation across five days.
Penny had pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, following an altercation in which he placed Neely in a chokehold.
The trial of Daniel Penny, a former Marine, centered around the events on May 1, 2023, when unhinged Jordan Neely boarded an F train, displaying erratic behavior, including shouting threats at passengers.
Penny placed Neely in a chokehold, a technique he had learned during his military service, for several minutes, after which Neely stopped moving and was later pronounced dead. The incident was captured on video and widely circulated, prompting public outcry and debate.
Initially, the jury was tasked with considering both charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. However, the second-degree manslaughter charge was dismissed by Judge Maxwell Wiley after the jury declared a deadlock, indicating they could not reach a unanimous decision on it.
At approximately 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Assistant District Attorney Dafna Yoran moved to dismiss the manslaughter charge.
“We move to dismiss the top count of manslaughter in the second degree,” Yoran said, according to a report from the New York Post.
The judge approved the motion.
“The 12-person panel will continue deliberating Monday on the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide, which Penny, 26, faces in the fatal May 2023 encounter aboard an uptown F train,” the Post reports.
Penny was charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide for using a chokehold to detain Jordan Neely, a homeless man who was threatening people on the subway, in May 2023. Neely later died after police arrived at the scene and opted not to attempt mouth-to-mouth resuscitation due to his appearance of being a drug user.
This is a developing story, and we will continue to provide updates as new information becomes available.
