The New York City jury charged with determining whether Navy veteran Daniel Penny committed manslaughter when he placed homeless man Jordan Neely in a chokehold has relied on testimony about his death.
The jury, made up of seven women and five men, sent a note to Judge Maxwell Wiley around 3 p.m. Wednesday asking him to repeat the city medical examiner’s testimony about issuing a death certificate without obtaining toxicology results for the 30-year-old victim.
Dr. Cynthia Harris had stated that bystander video of Penny’s six-minute encounter with Neely aboard the F train in Manhattan, as well as investigative results, gave her all the information she needed to declare that Neely died of neck compression. NBC 4 reports.
“No conceivable toxicology result could change my opinion,” Harris said, even though there was found to be “enough fentanyl to kill an elephant.”
She also claimed at one point that she didn’t know if she saw Penny applying “enough consistent pressure” on Neely’s neck in the video to kill him. according to Gothamist.
The jury also asked Wednesday to watch a Mexican journalist’s six-minute clip of the chokehold, as well as body camera footage from when New York Police Department officers arrived on the scene as paramedics tried to revive Neely, and footage of Neely’s interrogation. at the police station in the aftermath.
Defense attorneys had argued that Neely died not only from the chokehold, but from a combination of schizophrenia, synthetic marijuana use, a genetic condition and his struggle with Penny on the subway.
They noted that first responders chose to use Narcan to reverse the effects of opioids before administering CPR, and in his closing arguments, attorney Steven Raiser pointed out that no expert witness at trial could prove key elements beyond a reasonable doubt.
The jury charged with determining whether Navy veteran Daniel Penny (pictured) committed manslaughter when he placed homeless man Jordan Neely in a chokehold has relied on testimony about his death
The jury, made up of seven women and five men, asked a judge to repeat the city medical examiner’s testimony about issuing a death certificate without obtaining toxicology results for the 30-year-old victim
Defense attorneys have argued that Penny was only trying to protect others on the subway in May 2023 when he subdued Neely to death by putting him in a chokehold for six minutes.
Witnesses had said that on May 1, 2023, Neely boarded a train downtown and began moving erratically, screaming about his hunger and thirst and proclaiming that he was ready to die, go to jail — or like Penny and some other straphangers told – to kill.
In his closing statements, Raiser described the commuters aboard the subway that day as “frozen with fear” and claimed there was an obvious reason there was no footage of Neely’s outburst – because they were too scared to move.
He then cited experts and witnesses who testified at the trial, reminding jurors that Neely had “severe psychotic cases.”
But Assistant District Attorney Dafna Yoran warned the jury Tuesday that their verdict should not depend on whether they themselves would be grateful for Penny’s intervention or weigh the testimony of his loved ones that he is a “good man.”
“What’s so tragic about this case is that even though the defendant started doing the right thing… a man died,” she said.
‘He got all the signals he needed to stop. He ignored them. He has to be held accountable for that.”
She continued, “You’re not here to decide if you want to ride the train alone with Jordan Neely.
‘That’s not what this case is about. “The only thing you need to determine here is whether or not the evidence here proves that the defendant killed Jordan Neely.”
Penny is pictured putting Jordan Neely in a chokehold on a New York subway train on May 1, 2023
Neely was a Michael Jackson impersonator who was well known and recognized in Times Square (pictured in 2009)
Yafna also noted that Penny is a Marine Corps veteran, arguing that given his military experience, he should have had a better understanding of the risks of his actions.
She begged the jury to find Penny guilty of manslaughter – a charge punishable by up to 15 years in prison – and described in detail how Neely “clawed his nails at his own neck” as he fought against the chokehold in that crucial first phase. few minutes before he finally urinated on himself and lost consciousness.
But the jury must now decide whether Penny will be charged with manslaughter or negligent homicide.
To convict, prosecutors say Penny’s use of deadly force must be deemed unjustifiable and that he acted recklessly when he subdued Neely.
If they decide that Penny’s actions do not amount to manslaughter, the jury will consider the lesser charge of negligent homicide.
Both charges are felonies. Neither carries a mandatory prison sentence, but both carry a possibility: up to 15 years for manslaughter, or four years for negligent homicide.
The jury also asked to view body camera footage of the moment New York Police Department officers arrived on the scene as paramedics attempted to resuscitate Neely.
Deliberations are expected to continue Thursday as protesters continue to gather outside the Manhattan courthouse to censure Penny and express support for a manslaughter charge.
But some protesters have become aggressive, attorney Thomas Kenniff said Wednesday, describing how one day a man followed Penny to a car waiting for him after the trial and began banging on the doors.
The same man, he said, was “repeatedly abusing Mr Penny with violent and homophobic comments” when he arrived at the court on Wednesday.
Kenniff noted that the man had been in the audience in the courtroom and asked Wiley to exclude the man from future proceedings.
Wiley — who said he saw the confrontation from his office window — declined, noting that the public has a right to access legal proceedings.
He said court officials occasionally “restricted people’s access” because of their behavior in the courtroom, but he was not inclined to exclude anyone because of their behavior outside it.
At that point, Penny’s attorneys expressed concern that the jury might hear the protesters, but Wiley noted that he had instructed the jurors to ignore anything they could hear from outside.
“At this point I think we’re assuming they’re following their instructions,” the judge said.