Day 3 of Daniel Penny jury deliberations: Could a verdict be reached?
On the second day of deliberations, the anonymous jury also asked to rehear part of a city medical examiner’s testimony. FOX 5 NY’s Linda Schmidt has the latest from outside the courtroom.
NEW YORK CITY – The father of the victim at the center of the fatal New York City subway chokehold trial has sued the defendant as a Manhattan jury continues to deliberate the case Thursday.
JUMP TO: TIMELINE OF EVENTS l CHARGES l ABOUT THE TRIAL
Jordan Neely’s father, Andre Zachary, filed the suit Wednesday against Marine veteran Daniel Penny in New York Supreme Court.
He accuses the Long Island native of negligence, assault and battery, which led to the death of his unarmed, 30-year-old son on May 1, 2023, on an underground train.
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 lawsuit. Penny’s lawyer Steven Raiser dismissed the suit as a distraction.
“The timing is unfortunate as Danny is awaiting a verdict from the jury where the potential consequences are far greater than any civil suit could threaten,” he said in a statement Thursday, adding that Penny had not yet been served the complaint. “We will not be distracted by this attempt to attack Danny while he is under such tremendous stress.”
Latest: Jury deliberations continue
The third day of deliberations began on Thursday with the jury continuing to hear a readout of a city medical examiner’s testimony during the monthlong trial.
They then asked the judge to re-read the criminal definitions of recklessness and negligence in open court and be provided with written copies of the statutes as they headed back into their closed-door discussions.
Jurors have relistened to Dr. Cynthia Harris’ testimony about issuing a death certificate for Neely after conducting an autopsy and reviewing the bystander’s video and investigative findings.
Penny’s defense focused, in large part, on challenging the city medical examiner’s office’s determination that the chokehold killed Neely.
A defense pathologist testified Neely died from using synthetic marijuana, also known as “K2,” along with schizophrenia, a genetic condition and his struggle with Penny.
On Wednesday, jurors asked to review the police and bystander video, including the responding officers’ body camera videos and police video of Penny’s subsequent station house interview with detectives.
May 1, 2023: Daniel Penny places Jordan Neely in a fatal chokehold.
May 10, 2023: New York City Mayor Eric Adams said that the death of Jordan Neely at the hands of a fellow subway rider was “a tragedy that never should have happened” and pledged to do more to help people experiencing mental health crises.
Mayor Adams addresses Jordan Neely’s death
Mayor Adams said “Jordan Neely did not deserve to die,” and called for changes to the mental health crisis in the city.
May 11, 2023: Penny turns himself in to the Manhattan District attorney’s office.
May 20, 2023: Republican presidential hopefuls line up to support Penny.
June 15, 2023: A grand jury indicted Penny.
June 28, 2023: Penny pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide during his arraignment.
Daniel Penny pleads not guilty
Neely’s family members and their supporters have said Neely, who struggled with mental illness and homelessness, was crying out for help and was met with violence.
Jan. 17, 2024: A judge declined to dismiss the case against Penny.
Oct 21, 2024: Jury selection begins.
Nov 1, 2024: Jurors have heard opening statements in the trial.
Dec. 2, 2024: Closing arguments begin.
Penny faces second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide charges.
What happens if Penny is found guilty?
If the jury finds Penny guilty, he could face up to 15 years in prison. There is no minimum sentence.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office also reached out to FOX 5 NY to report that there is also no mandatory prison sentence for Penny’s charges, but it is unclear how that could affect sentencing.
On May 1, 2023, Penny had left class and boarded an uptown F train in Manhattan to head to the gym. Neely was on board the train, and witnesses said he was shouting about needing food and something to drink before whipping his jacket to the floor and starting to scream. They differed in descriptions of his movements and whether they were threatening.
Penny stepped in and approached Neely from behind. With the help of two other passengers, Penny pinned Neely to the ground and placed him in a chokehold until Neely’s body went limp and he lost consciousness. The medical examiner’s office ruled the death a homicide caused by compression of the neck.
The train stopped at the Broadway-Lafayette Street station in Manhattan, allowing passengers to get off, but Penny did not let go.
Prosecutors and the defense both agree that Penny had the right to step in, but prosecutors argue that Penny used too much force on an unarmed man.
What do prosecutors say?
Prosecutor Dafna Yoran told jurors at the start of summations Monday that Daniel Penny used too much force for too long on Neely, holding him a chokehold for nearly six minutes. Prosecutors argued that he could have released Neely after passengers stepped off the train at the station, once he was no longer a threat to others.
What did the defense say?
Defense lawyer Steven Raiser says Penny acted to save subway riders from threatening behavior. They argued that Penny held onto Neely until police arrived so they could take him into custody.
Attorneys for Daniel Penny join GDNY
Jury selection is expected to begin in the criminal trial of Daniel Penny, the U.S. Marine Corps veteran accused of placing homeless man Jordan Neely in a deadly chokehold last year on a NYC subway train. Penny’s attorneys, Steven Raiser and Thomas Kenniff, joined Good Day New York on Monday morning.
They also claim that the chokehold was not what killed Penny, instead arguing that schizophrenia, synthetic marijuana use and sickle cell trait led to his death.
Who is Daniel Penny?
Daniel Penny is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran from West Islip, Long Island. He served in the Marines for four years and was discharged in 2021.
Daniel Penny leaves the courtroom for a lunch break in New York, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
At the time of Neely’s death, Penny was studying architecture.
Who was Jordan Neely?
Jordan Neely, 30, once was among the city’s corps of subway and street performers and was known for his Michael Jackson impersonations.
Jordan Neely is pictured before going to see the Michael Jackson movie, “This is It,” outside the Regal Cinemas in Times Square in 2009. (Andrew Savulich/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
But after his mother was violently killed when he was a teenager, Neely was diagnosed with depression and schizophrenia, was repeatedly hospitalized, struggled with drug abuse and had a criminal record that included assault convictions.
During the monthlong trial, the jury heard testimony from subway passengers who witnessed Penny’s roughly six-minute restraint of Neely, as well as police who responded to it, pathologists, a psychiatric expert, a Marine Corps instructor who taught Penny chokehold techniques and Penny’s relatives, friends and fellow Marines. Penny chose not to testify.
Jurors watched videos recorded by bystanders and by police body cameras and saw how Penny explained his actions to officers on the scene and later in a stationhouse interview room.
PHILIP MARCELO, with the Associated Press, helped contribute to this report.
