Jury deadlocked in Daniel Penny trial
The jury within the Daniel Penny trial advised the choose they couldn’t attain a unanimous verdict on the primary cost of second-degree manslaughter, prompting the choose to challenge an Allen cost urging them to make each effort to agree.
NEW YORK – The second-degree manslaughter cost towards Daniel Penny has been dismissed after jurors could not agree on a verdict, however the Marine Corps veteran nonetheless faces a second cost in reference to final 12 months’s subway chokehold dying.
“You at the moment are free to contemplate depend 2,” Decide Maxwell Wiley mentioned Friday afternoon, directing the jury to focus solely on the second cost: Criminally negligent murder.
Penny’s legal professionals say he was defending himself and different subway riders from a risky, mentally unwell man who was making alarming remarks and gestures. Prosecutors say Penny reacted far too forcefully to somebody he perceived as a peril, not an individual.
Earlier within the day, the jury advised the choose they couldn’t attain a unanimous verdict on the manslaughter cost, prompting the choose to challenge an Allen cost, urging them to make each effort to agree.
Daniel Penny arrives on the Manhattan Legal Court docket as jurors proceed deliberation on December 5, 2024 in New York Metropolis. (Photograph by Alex Kent/Getty Photos)
What’s an Allen cost?
An Allen cost is a courtroom instruction given to a deadlocked jury to encourage them to achieve a unanimous verdict.
The choose reiterated the accountability of the jurors to achieve a choice, explaining that “deliberations weren’t supposed to be straightforward,” however that they need to “harmonize” their views and attain a choice.
The jury couldn’t deliberate on the second cost with out resolving the primary, as Penny can’t be convicted of each.
“It will be a loopy end result to have a hung jury as a result of they can not transfer onto the second depend,” prosecutor Dafna Yoran was heard telling the choose.
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Jury deadlocked: Skilled weighs in
The jury within the Daniel Penny trial advised the choose they couldn’t attain a unanimous verdict on the primary cost of second-degree manslaughter, prompting the choose to challenge an Allen cost urging them to make each effort to agree. One of many jurors was seen rolling his eyes because the directions had been learn.
What expenses does Daniel Penny face?
Penny faces second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent murder expenses.
What occurs if Penny is discovered responsible?
If the jury finds Penny responsible, he may withstand 15 years in jail. There is no such thing as a minimal sentence. The Manhattan District Legal professional’s Workplace additionally reached out to FOX 5 NY to report that there’s additionally no obligatory jail sentence for Penny’s expenses, however it’s unclear how that might have an effect on sentencing.
What occurred on Might 1, 2023?

Bodycam video exhibits emergency medical personnel making an attempt to revive Jordan Neely after he was positioned in a chokehold by Daniel Penny on Might 5, 2023. (NYPD handout)
On Might 1, 2023, Penny had left class and boarded an uptown F prepare in Manhattan to move to the fitness center. Neely was on board the prepare, and witnesses mentioned he was shouting about needing meals and one thing to drink earlier than whipping his jacket to the ground and beginning to scream. They differed in descriptions of his actions and whether or not they had been threatening.
Penny stepped in and approached Neely from behind. With the assistance of two different passengers, Penny pinned Neely to the bottom and positioned him in a chokehold till Neely’s physique went limp and he misplaced consciousness. The medical expert’s workplace dominated the dying a murder brought on by compression of the neck.
The prepare stopped on the Broadway-Lafayette Road station in Manhattan, permitting passengers to get off, however Penny didn’t let go.
Prosecutors and the protection each agree that Penny had the fitting to step in, however prosecutors argue that Penny used an excessive amount of pressure on an unarmed man.
Jordan Neely’s father sues Daniel Penny
The daddy of the sufferer on the heart of the deadly New York Metropolis subway chokehold trial has sued the defendant. FOX 5 New York’s Briella Tomasseti joined LiveNOW from FOX with the small print.
What do prosecutors say?
Prosecutor Dafna Yoran advised jurors in the beginning of summations Monday that Daniel Penny used an excessive amount of pressure for too lengthy on Neely, holding him a chokehold for practically six minutes. Prosecutors argued that he may have launched Neely after passengers stepped off the prepare on the station, as soon as he was now not a risk to others.
What did the protection say?
Protection lawyer Steven Raiser says Penny acted to save lots of subway riders from threatening conduct. They argued that Penny held onto Neely till police arrived so they might take him into custody. In addition they declare that the chokehold was not what killed Penny, as a substitute arguing that schizophrenia, artificial marijuana use and sickle cell trait led to his dying.
Who’s Daniel Penny?

Daniel Penny exits the courtroom for a break throughout his trial at Manhattan Legal Court docket on December 03, 2024 in New York Metropolis.(Photograph by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Photos)
Daniel Penny is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran from West Islip, Lengthy Island. He served within the Marines for 4 years and was discharged in 2021. On the time of Neely’s dying, Penny was finding out structure.
Who was Jordan Neely?

File: Jordan Neely is pictured earlier than going to see the Michael Jackson film, “That is It” outdoors the Regal Cinemas in Instances Sq. in 2009. (Andrew Savulich/New York Every day Information/Tribune Information Service by way of Getty Photos)
Jordan Neely, 30, as soon as was among the many metropolis’s corps of subway and road performers and was identified for his Michael Jackson impersonations. However after his mom was violently killed when he was a young person, Neely was recognized with despair and schizophrenia, was repeatedly hospitalized, struggled with drug abuse and had a felony file that included assault convictions.
What occurred throughout the trial?
Through the monthlong trial, the jury heard testimony from subway passengers who witnessed Penny’s roughly six-minute restraint of Neely, in addition to police who responded to it, pathologists, a psychiatric knowledgeable, a Marine Corps teacher who taught Penny chokehold strategies and Penny’s kinfolk, buddies and fellow Marines. Penny selected to not testify.
Jurors watched movies recorded by bystanders and by police physique cameras and noticed how Penny defined his actions to officers on the scene and later in a stationhouse interview room.
Timeline
Might 1, 2023: Daniel Penny locations Jordan Neely in a deadly chokehold.
Might 10, 2023: New York Metropolis Mayor Eric Adams mentioned that the dying of Jordan Neely by the hands of a fellow subway rider was “a tragedy that by no means ought to have occurred” and pledged to do extra to assist individuals experiencing psychological well being crises.
Might 11, 2023: Penny turns himself in to the Manhattan District lawyer’s workplace.
Might 20, 2023: Republican presidential hopefuls line as much as help Penny.
June 15, 2023: A grand jury indicted Penny.
June 28, 2023: Penny pleaded not responsible to second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent murder throughout his arraignment.
Jan. 17, 2024: A choose declined to dismiss the case towards Penny.
Oct. 21, 2024: Jury choice begins.
Nov. 1, 2024: Jurors have heard opening statements within the trial.
Dec. 2, 2024: Closing arguments start.
The Supply
- This text was written primarily based on reporting revealed by the Related Press and the New York Instances together with FOX 5 NY reporter accounts.