Daniel Penny trial: Jury to continue deliberations on lesser charge of negligent homicide

Written by on December 9, 2024

(NEW YORK) — The jury in the Daniel Penny trial will begin deliberations over whether he committed criminally negligent homicide when he placed Jordan Neely in a chokehold on a subway car last year, after the jury was deadlocked on the more serious charge of manslaughter last week.

At the request of prosecutors on Friday, Judge Maxwell Wiley dismissed the second-degree manslaughter charge – which carried a maximum 15-year sentence – and directed the jury to turn to the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide, which has a four-year maximum sentence. Neither crime has a minimum sentence.

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

Wiley also denied a new motion for a mistrial made Monday morning by Penny’s defense lawyers, who argued that the dismissal of the manslaughter charge would influence the jury’s verdict.

“There is no way to cure the legal error that we believe very strongly happened on Friday, and we are renewing our motion for a mistrial on the remaining count two,” said Thomas Kenniff, who said the dismissal could result in a “coercive verdict.”

Wiley disagreed, promptly denying the motion like he did on Friday when the defense unsuccessfully argued twice for a mistrial.

“I don’t think the court has committed a legal error, so the motion for a mistrial is denied,” Wiley said.

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

“The court has no role at all in deliberations,” Wiley said while encouraging jurors to “harmonize” their views as they continue their deliberations. “No jury should surrender his or her honest view on the evidence simply because he or she is outvoted or wants to bring an end to deliberations”

Prosecutors allege that 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-long chokehold on a subway car in May 2023, holding Neely for at least 51 seconds after his body went limp. Assistant district attorney Dafna Yoran argued Penny knew his actions could kill Neely but continued to hold him in a chokehold for “way too long” and “didn’t recognize his humanity.”

The city’s medical examiner concluded Penny’s chokehold killed Neely. The defense argued Neely died from a genetic condition and the synthetic marijuana found in his system.

Penny has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Defense attorney Steven Raiser told jurors that Penny “acted to save” subway passengers from a “violent and desperate” Neely, who was acting erratically and “scared the living daylights out of everybody.” Raiser argued that Neely was fighting back, and Penny continued to hold on because he feared he would break free, though he didn’t intend to kill Neely.

Last week, the jury spent more than 23 hours across four days deliberating whether Penny, a 26-year-old former Marine and architecture student, committed second degree manslaughter before repeatedly signaling that they 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 “coercive or a compromised verdict” by “elbowing” jurors to convict on the lesser charge.

Manslaughter would have required proving that Penny acted recklessly and grossly deviated from how a reasonable person would behave, while proving criminally negligent homicide requires the jury to be convinced that Penny engaged in “blameworthy conduct” that he did not consider would lead to the risk of death.

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

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


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