Daniel Penny, a Marine who choked a fellow subway rider on an uptown F train last year, was acquitted on a charge of criminally negligent homicide on Monday, ending a case that had come to exemplify New York City’s post-pandemic struggles.
The jurors decided that Mr. Penny’s actions were not criminal when he held the rider, Jordan Neely, in a chokehold as the two men struggled on the floor of a subway car on May 1, 2023. Mr. Neely, who was homeless and had a history of mental illness, had strode through the subway car that afternoon, yelling at passengers and frightening them, according to witnesses.
CBS News New York’s Alice Gainer was inside the courtroom, where she reported chaos unfolded after the verdict was announced. Some cheered in support of Penny, while Neely’s father had to leave the room because he stood up and was swearing.
“Our call to action is to take care of each other. We can’t rely on outside people. If we see someone asking for food, we have to take the responsibility to give it to them. If we see someone cold, to give them a coat. If we see someone going through something, to ask them if they’re OK,” Donte Mills, attorney for the Neely family, said in a news conference outside the courthouse. “That’s how we help each other, because we can’t rely on the system to do it for us.”
Eric Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr, also spoke outside the courthouse, saying, “no one deserves to be choked to death.”
Penny faced a maximum possible sentence of 15 years in prison on the manslaughter charge, or four years on the negligent homicide charge. There was no minimum sentence.
Protests outside courthouse over Daniel Penny verdict
About 15 protesters lined up outside the courthouse Monday, chanting “justice for Jordan Neely.” Inside, Penny’s defense team asked for a mistrial and once again was denied.
One activist who has been outside demonstrating every morning was inside and yelled something at Penny along the lines of “it’s a small world, buddy.”
How It All Started
Police and witnesses said Neely, 30, boarded an F train in SoHo on May 1, 2023 and began shouting, throwing things and making threats. Penny, a passenger on the train, approached Neely from behind and tried to restrain him.
Video shows Penny holding Neely in a chokehold on the floor of the train for several minutes until Neely stopped moving. After police arrived, officers administered Narcan to Neely, performed CPR and used an AED, but were unable to revive him. Neely was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said Neely did not have any weapons on him.
A medical examiner ruled Neely’s death a homicide three days later, with the cause as compression of the neck. Toxicology reports showed Neely had synthetic marijuana in his system when he died.
Neely was a street performer and Michael Jackson impersonator who was experiencing homelessness and had struggled with mental illness after his mother was murdered in 2007.
Video of Penny holding Neely in the chokehold was widely circulated online. Neely’s death sparked protests across New York City, with many raising concerns about the need for better mental health care in the city, and Neely’s family called for Penny’s arrest.
Penny turned himself in on May 12, 2023, and was initially charged with second-degree manslaughter and released on $100,000 bail. He was arraigned in June and pleaded not guilty to criminally negligent homicide and second-degree manslaughter.
Penny defended his actions, saying he was trying to protect other passengers on the train by restraining Neely.
