A New York City jury is set to deliberate on whether Marine veteran Daniel Penny is guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the death of a man he placed in a chokehold on a subway train. The jury recently indicated their inability to reach a unanimous verdict on a more serious charge, leading to the dismissal of the top count of manslaughter against Penny.
The incident occurred in May 2023 when Penny placed Jordan Neely in a chokehold for approximately six minutes after Neely began behaving erratically on a subway car. Penny's defense argued that he acted to protect other passengers from a mentally ill individual, while prosecutors contended that his response was excessive given that Neely was unarmed.
