On Monday, a Manhattan jury found Daniel Penny not guilty of killing Jordan Neely aboard a subway train last year. After more than four days of deliberation, jurors rejected the charge of criminally negligent homicide after deadlocking on a manslaughter count, which was dismissed by the judge on Friday due to the impass. Penny is now a free man.
The jury began deliberating last Tuesday and in the days that followed, the anonymous jurors sent multiple notes, requesting readbacks of testimony as well as videos entered into evidence including Penny’s interrogation and police body camera footage. On Friday, the jurors indicated that they could not reach a consensus on the charge of second-degree manslaughter, requesting further instructions from the judge as they’re unable to come to a unanimous decision. When they remained unable to come to a verdict later in the day, Judge Maxwell Wiley moved to drop the manslaughter charge, instructing the jury to continue their deliberation on the remaining count of criminally neglient homicide on Monday.
In May 2023, Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man, was seen shouting and acting erratically while aboard a northbound F train. Penny, a 24-year-old former Marine, came up behind Neely and placed him in a chokehold, restraining him with assistance from other passengers. Video shot by a bystander in the subway car showed Penny holding Neely around the neck for several minutes with Neely struggling to get out of his grasp. Neely was later transported to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. A medical examiner later concluded that Neely died from compression of the neck, ruling his death a homicide. Penny was indicted by a grand jury the following month, facing charges of second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.
The case quickly became a cultural flashpoint, touching upon ongoing concerns about safety and crime on public transit as well as the increase of homelessness throughout the city.
Prosecutors argued that Penny held the chokehold longer than required, alleging that the former Marine, who was trained in such maneuvers, restrained Neely for six minutes and did not let go even once the train stopped at a station. “He used far too much force for far too long. He went way too far,” prosecutor Dafna Yoran told the jury during her opening statement, per the Associated Press.
The defense attested that Neely’s death was the result of additional factors including his personal health as well as the “excitement” of the incident. Penny’s attorney Thomas Kenniff said his client heard Penny said “I will kill,” which prompted him to take action. “When Jordan Neely threatened to kill, there was only one thing Daniel Penny could do,” he said, per Gothamist.
The jury heard eyewitness accounts from passengers on the train that day as well as testimony from a former Marine instructor of Penny’s and dueling perspectives from medical experts on the cause of Neely’s death. Penny did not testify on the stand in his defense.
Members of the New York City Council issued a joint statement condemning the verdict. “Jordan Neely was failed by the city’s social service system for years. He was failed by our city when Daniel Penny put him in a chokehold on the subway. And today, Jordan was failed once again, this time by the city’s justice system, following the jury’s decision to acquit Penny of criminally negligent homicide,” wrote Council Members Sandy Nurse, Shahana Hanif, Jennifer Gutiérrez, Carmen de La Rosa, Kevin C. Riley and Crystal Hudson.
Ed Cox, the chair of the state Republican Party praised the jury’s conclusion. “Today’s acquittal of Daniel Penny is a victory for justice and a testament to the enduring courage of ordinary New Yorkers who refuse to stand idly by in the face of danger,” he wrote.
