NEW YORK – Defense attorneys for Daniel Penny, a Marine veteran on trial in New York City for the strangulation death of Jordan Neely on the subway, called a forensic psychiatrist to the stand to testify about Neely's substance abuse and mental health problems. I would like to explain how the problem is affecting the company. It may have influenced “the level of hostility displayed by Mr. Neely.”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office does not want the jury to see that evidence or hear expert testimony from Dr. Alexander Vardy.
Tuesday's court session began with a meeting between lawyers for both sides and the judge.
“Psychiatrist testimony and unredacted psychiatric records are inadmissible, and their suggestions are a clear attempt by the defense to smear the victim's character in order to devalue the victim's life for the jury.'' “This is an attempt by a public prosecutor,” prosecutor Dafna Yoran argued in a court filing.
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Daniel Penny appears in Manhattan Supreme Court on Monday, November 18, 2024 in New York, New York. Penny, a retired Marine, is charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the 2023 death of Jordan Neely in New York. Subway train in the city. (Adam Gray, Fox News Digital)
She did not want the jury to hear about Neely's past, claiming the information was “inadmissible.”
“In New York, it is a black book law that a deceased victim's past misdeeds are admissible in court only if they were known to the defendant at the time of the crime,” she wrote.
The defense countered that drug use is exempt from this rule because the effects are obvious even if someone did not know about it in advance.
But the defense counters that Dr. Birdy's testimony is necessary because Neely's toxicology report lacks details about the dosage of synthetic marijuana found in Neely's system.
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Jordan Neely is pictured outside the Regal Cinemas on 8th Avenue and 42nd Street in New York's Times Square in 2009 before going to see the Michael Jackson movie “This Is It.” (Andrew Sabrich/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
“Limited toxicology and mixed witness testimony only tell part of the story,” Penny's attorney Thomas Kenniff said in a court filing. “The defense is entitled to elicit information contained in Mr. Neely's psychiatric records that demonstrate the prevalence of his K2 use and the physiological behaviors he routinely exhibited while using K2.
“Expert testimony in this regard tends to support two relevant facts: Mr. Neely was using K2 at the time of this incident, not just days or weeks before this incident; It was evidence of the actions of people who have experienced
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Screenshot of bystander video showing Jordan Neely being strangled on the New York City subway. (Luces de Nueva York/Juan Alberto Vazquez, via Storyful)
Penny, 26, could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the top charge of manslaughter. He is also charged with minor negligent homicide in the death of Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man with a history of mental health issues, drug abuse and criminal activity on the subway.
The defense called Dr. Birdy to the stand on Tuesday, and also planned to call witnesses who served with Penny in the Marines. Penny joined the military after graduating from high school and was studying architecture at the time of her fatal encounter with Neely last May.
Neely barges onto the train, throws his jacket on the ground, begins shouting death threats, and tells the strappers that he doesn't care if he gets a life sentence.
During the explosion, Penny strangled him and wrestled him to the ground as witnesses called 911. Another rider helped Penny and restrained him until police arrived.
When they removed Neely's hands, Neely still had a pulse, but Dr. Cynthia Harris, the forensic pathologist who performed his autopsy, said that even if he died of asphyxiation, his heart would probably continue beating for some time. He testified that it was normal.
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She said an autopsy determined Neely's death was due to asphyxiation due to strangulation.
Penny's team maintains that Neely's death was a legitimate defense. Prosecutors argue that while it was not intentional, it was criminally reckless or negligent.
