Daniel Penny was all smiles on Monday as he relaxed with his lawyers and celebrated his not guilty verdict in the strangling death of Jordan Neely. Neely was grabbed by a 26-year-old Marine veteran who was threatening to kill subway passengers. At the back.
Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man who was high on synthetic marijuana and suffering from schizophrenia, witnesses said he ran into a car and began screaming that someone was going to die, before losing consciousness and killing himself, according to witnesses.
Attorney Thomas Kenniff, seen Monday at the Stone Street Tavern in lower Manhattan, said he was not surprised by the verdict.
“I think this probably should have happened on the first day, but the important thing is that it happened,” Penny said, smiling but turning away without saying anything, before telling the Associated Press cameras. told the camera. “You can't control the timing, but you can definitely enjoy the results.”
Daniel Penny found not guilty in subway chokehold trial
Daniel Penny (center), who was acquitted of criminally negligent homicide, poses for a photo with his attorneys Stephen Reiser (left) and Thomas Kenniff at a bar on Monday, December 9, 2024 in New York City. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz)
Jurors found Penny not guilty on Monday after a contentious weeks-long trial. Critics called it politically charged, especially after Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Dafna Yolan repeatedly appeared to inject racial overtones into cases unrelated to hate crime charges. It's called an indictment.
Prosecutors portrayed Neely, who is black, as someone in need of help, and argued that Penny, a white architecture student, went too far by strangling Neely for an extended period of time, even though he acknowledged he was right to intervene. Witnesses said they were horrified by Neely's erratic behavior and were grateful for Penny's intervention.
Daniel Penny appears for closing argument in subway chokehold trial
WATCH: Daniel Penny's lawyer reacts after acquittal in Jordan Neely death trial
A jury ultimately found him not guilty of manslaughter. They stalled on the more serious manslaughter charge, and the judge granted the prosecution's motion to dismiss it entirely.
“He's not guilty on several counts, because his actions were justified. He was trying to help the people who were on the train,” said Penny's other lawyer, Stephen Reiser. ” he said. “And he did. And number two, he was not responsible for that death, because that death was caused by a number of other factors that we tried to articulate, including K2 abuse and the sickle cell crisis.” Not to mention paranoid schizophrenia and heart problems.”
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Penny, a Marine veteran who won a humanitarian award for his work helping hurricane victims, was from Long Island and was described by friends as calm and empathetic during trial testimony. He played lacrosse, was in the school orchestra as a teenager, and after being honorably discharged from the military worked two jobs while studying architecture at New York City Polytechnic Institute.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
