Marine veteran found not guilty in NYC subway chokehold trial

Daniel Penny, the Marine veteran at the center of the New York City subway chokehold trial, has been found not guilty in the death of Jordan Neely. 

A Manhattan jury on Monday cleared Penny, 26, on a criminally negligent homicide charge.

He had initially been charged with manslaughter in the death of Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man who had been shouting at passengers that he was hungry, thirsty and suicidal when Penny placed Neely in a headlock position for several minutes. 

Penny was initially taken into custody and released after Neely's death, and a grand jury voted to indict Penny in June 2023. He pleaded not guilty. 

Judge Maxwell Wiley dismissed the more serious charge of manslaughter on Friday after jurors told the court they could not reach a unanimous verdict on the count.

Both of the charges were felonies that carried the possibility of prison time — Penny could have served up to four years in prison if convicted of criminally negligent homicide and up to 15 years for a manslaughter conviction.

Penny’s lawyers argued that he was protecting himself and the other passengers from a mentally ill man, while prosecutors countered that Penny reacted too forcefully and recklessly. Prosecutors added that Penny could have restrained Neely without “choking him to death" and said Penny felt no remorse for his actions.

But Penny’s defense relied heavily upon his Marine background to paint him as a protector. They also disputed the chief medical examiner’s finding that Neely died from the chokehold. Instead, using its own medical expert, the defense claimed Neely died of a sickling crisis from his sickle cell trait, a schizophrenic episode, Penny’s restraint and synthetic marijuana.

As the jury’s verdict was read aloud on Monday, Penny smiled. Applause broke out in the courtroom. 

But Andre Zachary, Neely’s father, was escorted out of the courtroom after an outburst that included expletives, according to CNN. 

Zachary filed a civil suit against Penny last week in New York Supreme Court. He has accused Penny of negligence, assault and battery in his son’s death. 

Zachary is seeking a judgment awarding damages “in a sum which exceeds the jurisdictional limits of all lower Courts which would otherwise have jurisdiction,” according to The Associated Press.