Daniel Penny jurors begin deliberations in Jordan Neely subway chokehold trial

NEW YORK CITY - Jurors have begun their deliberations in the manslaughter trial of Daniel Penny, the 26-year-old Marine veteran charged with recklessly choking out Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man who barged onto a Manhattan subway car shouting death threats.

Penny arrived at the Manhattan courthouse Tuesday morning for the final day of prosecutors' closing arguments as protesters chanted "Guilty!" through a megaphone.

Penny, flanked by his defense lawyers, fixed his suit jacket and looked straight ahead without acknowledging the protesters or reporters outside the courthouse, video shows.

Inside, Assistant Manhattan District Attorney Dafna Yoran finished her closing arguments shortly before noon, and the judge read jury instructions after a break.

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Penny faces a maximum of 15 years in prison if convicted on the top charge of manslaughter. He is also accused of criminally negligent homicide.

Jurors were told they could only find Penny guilty of the lesser charge if they found him not guilty of manslaughter "for some reason other than the lack of justification." If they find him guilty of manslaughter, they were told not to render a verdict at all on the lesser count. If they find him not guilty of manslaughter because prosecutors failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Penny was not justified in his actions, they were told they must also find him not guilty of criminally negligent homicide.

Shortly after beginning deliberations, they asked the judge to reread instructions about how justification works.

See the verdict sheet

As Yoran wound down, she addressed the protesters outside.

"The defense would have you believe that because of the few protesters outside the chief medical examiner of New York would participate in fraud," she said. "I can go on and on about how absurd and insulting this all is."

The defense objected, telling the judge it never alleged there was a mass conspiracy. 

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At the time of the May 2023 incident, Neely was high on K2, a drug that witnesses described as a form of synthetic marijuana with an effect similar to cocaine. He had a severe case of paranoid schizophrenia, a lengthy criminal history and an active arrest warrant.

He stepped onto the train, threw his jacket on the ground and began making death threats, warning that he wasn't afraid to die, to go back to jail or to spend life in prison.

Penny grabbed him from behind in a headlock, wrestled him to the ground and held him with the help of another passenger. He remained at the scene and spoke with police voluntarily. They let him go. Eleven days later, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's Office announced an indictment and Penny turned himself in.

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The City Medical Examiner's Office ruled his death a homicide by asphyxiation, blaming the chokehold. A defense expert, Texas forensic pathologist Dr. Satish Chundru, countered that the cause of death was a combination of Neely's drug use, a genetic condition known as sickle cell trait, the physical exertion from the struggle with Penny and his severe mental illness.

Despite the mob of angry protesters outside, Penny's defense fund has climbed to above $3.2 million, with donations continuing to come in as recently as Tuesday morning.