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Marine veteran Daniel Penny goes on trial for manslaughter in NYC subway
chokehold death of Jordan Neely | CNN
Eric Levenson, Gloria Pazmino, Mark Morales
CNN
Opening statements are underway Friday in the trial of the US military
veteran accused of fatally choking a homeless Black man on the New York
City subway last year, in a case that touches on the hot-button issues of
subway crime, mental illness, race relations and vigilante justice.
All good involved citizens should be paying attention to this,Marine veteran Daniel Penny goes on trial for manslaughter in NYC subway
chokehold death of Jordan Neely | CNN
Eric Levenson, Gloria Pazmino, Mark Morales
CNN
Opening statements are underway Friday in the trial of the US military
veteran accused of fatally choking a homeless Black man on the New York
City subway last year, in a case that touches on the hot-button issues of
subway crime, mental illness, race relations and vigilante justice.
and hoping for justice to be shown.
Daniel Penny, a 26-year-old former Marine, faces charges of second-degree
manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the May 2023 chokehold
death of 30-year-old Jordan Neely. Penny has pleaded not guilty and argued
he was acting to protect others.
Neely had boarded a crowded subway in Manhattan and was acting erratically
and loudly yelling, according to witnesses. Penny, who is White, then
grabbed Neely from behind and put him in a chokehold, and he maintained
that hold for about six minutes, including after Neely stopped moving,
according to prosecutors.
Neely was later pronounced dead at a hospital. A medical examiner ruled
his death a homicide.
Several minutes of the chokehold were captured on bystander video, leading
to protests and calls for Penny to be arrested. Others have defended
Penny's actions and have donated over $3 million to his legal defense
fund.
Penny surrendered to police on a manslaughter charge nearly two weeks
after Neely's death, and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office
announced an indictment at the end of the following month.
"Jordan Neely took his last breaths on the dirty floor of an uptown F
train," Manhattan prosecutor Dafna Yoran said Friday in her opening
statement. "At the time he died he was 30 years old, homeless, suffering
from mental illness."
"We pass people like Jordan Neely every day in New York City, on our way
to the store, on our way to work, on our way back." Yoran continued. "We
are trained not to engage, to pretend that they are not there."
Neely walked into a moderately packed subway car and began screaming
threats. He talked about being hungry and thirsty. His voice was loud, the
prosecutor said.
In response, "The defendant Daniel Penny took it upon himself to
neutralize him. He wrapped his legs around Mr. Neely's body and held him
there. Seconds later the train arrived at the train station," Yoran said.
"With no one left to protect, the defendant nonetheless kept Mr. Neely in
a deadly chokehold for an additional 5 minutes and 53 seconds."
"He continued to choke Jordan Neely after Mr. Neely had lost
consciousness."
Penny has specialized training in chokeholds, "so he knew that continuing
to choke Mr. Neely once he had already passed out could and would lead to
his death," Yoran said, detailing the defendant's military background.
The prosecutor said Penny "went way too far."
"His indifference towards Mr. Neely – the man whose life he was literally
holding in his hands - caused him to disregard basic precautions, in
contravention of the law and human decency."
After releasing him from the deadly chokehold, Penny "didn't look back,"
Yoran said.
"He went and picked up his hat that had fallen off, he dusted himself off
and then he stood over Mr. Neely, waiting for the police."
The prosecutor pointed out that despite being trained in first aid, Penny
never once attempted to help Neely.
Yoran detailed some of the evidence that will be presented to the jury,
including video captured by journalist Juan Alberto Vasquez, calling it
the "single most important piece of evidence." Yoran warned that jurors
will see Neely's "life being snuffed out."
Before opening statements, Penny, dressed in a navy blue suit, light blue
shirt and dark tie, could be seen saying "good morning" to court staff
before taking a seat at the defense table. Neely's father along with other
supporters are sitting in the back of the courtroom.
With protests outside the courthouse audible inside the courtroom,
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Maxwell Wiley instructed the jury to not
listen to the words being yelled.
"Anything you should hear outside the courtroom has nothinga to do with
this," Wiley said. "If you hear people expressing opinions outside this
court, ignore them."
The killing has polarized city residents, many of whom have personal
experiences with disorder on the subways, and raised broader questions
about the racial dynamics at play and how the city treats people with
mental health issues. Former President Donald Trump said in an interview
with Fox News last week it was "an awfully tough case."
At jury selection over the last two weeks, most jurors said they ride the
subway frequently and have witnessed outbursts by people acting
erratically on the trains. Some said these outbursts made them feel
"personally threatened," while others said the outbursts did not.
Penny has said Neely was acting in a threatening manner, and his attorneys
have said they are confident a jury will find his actions were "fully
justified." Penny, who is out of jail on a $100,000 bond, faces up to 15
years in prison if convicted of manslaughter and up to 4 years if
convicted of criminally negligent homicide.
Jeremy Saland, a former prosecutor for the Manhattan District Attorney's
Office, said the case touches on a lot of major issues and emotions.
"This is something that is relatable to so many people and that's why it's
enraged the passion on both sides, from ‘Leave Penny alone, all he was
doing was protecting the lives of fellow subway riders,' and on the flip
side, ‘He needs to be held accountable for taking the life of another
person.'"
Witness describes chokehold death incident on New York's subway (2023)
03:41 - Source: CNN
The evidence is likely to focus on testimony from witnesses on board the
train that day, as well as experts in medicine and restraint tactics. The
defense has said they have not decided if Penny will testify.
The fatal encounter happened on the afternoon of May 1, 2023, on a
northbound F train at the Second Avenue station in Manhattan.
Neely, a Michael Jackson impersonator, shouted at passengers that he was
hungry, thirsty and tired of having nothing, and he threw his jacket on
the train's floor, according to Juan Alberto Vazquez, a witness who filmed
the incident.
"I don't care if I die. I don't care if I go to jail," Neely said,
according to Vazquez.
Penny then came up behind Neely and put him in a chokehold, and the two
fell to the ground and remained there for several minutes. When police
arrived at the subway station in Lower Manhattan before 2:30 p.m., they
administered first aid to an unconscious Neely.
In a court filing, prosecutors said witness accounts differed about
Neely's exact words and actions prior to the chokehold. While a few
witnesses stated they were fearful of Neely, others felt differently,
including one person who described the moment as being "like another day
typically in New York."
None of the witnesses said Neely had physical contact with anyone before
Penny came up behind him, according to the prosecution filing.
"Many witnesses relayed that Mr. Neely expressed that he was homeless,
hungry, and thirsty. Most recount that Mr. Neely indicated a willingness
to go to jail or prison," the prosecutor wrote in the filing.
Penny told police that Neely was "irate" and "threatening everybody" and
that others on the train were afraid, according to court records filed
last June. "I just put him out. I just put him in a chokehold," Penny
said.
Penny also told the New York Post he was "deeply saddened by the loss of
life" and the incident "had nothing to do with race."
Penny is a veteran who served in the US Marines, according to law
enforcement and military records. He was a sergeant and served from 2017
to 2021, and his last duty assignment was at Camp Lejeune in North
Carolina, military records show.
Thomas Kenniff, Penny's attorney, said his client was trying to help
others on the subway who were afraid of Neely. He also challenged the
medical examiner's determination that the chokehold caused Neely's death.
"Our client was coming to the aid of others. He didn't cause Mr. Neely's
death, he didn't intend Mr. Neely's death, he didn't foresee Mr. Neely's
death," Kenniff said in a news conference October 21.
"His actions are what any of us who, if we were riding the subway and we
saw someone behaving in the manner that Mr. Neely was behaving –
threatening the lives of men, women and children on the subway train –
that we would all want someone to do that for us," he added.
Neely was known for his smooth Michael Jackson dance moves that
entertained many - yet he struggled after the trauma of his mother's
murder in 2007, when he was 14 years old. Neely was on a New York City
Department of Homeless Services list of the city's homeless with acute
needs, sometimes referred to internally as the "Top 50" list, a source
told CNN last year.
Donte Mills, the attorney representing Neely's family, said the street
performer's loved ones have not moved on from the subway killing and they
never will.
"The fact of the case is this: Someone got on the train and was screaming,
and someone choked that person to death," Mills said in a news conference
October 21. "Those things will never balance out, and there's no
justification that can make those things balance out."
Mills said there will be as many as 20 family members attending the trial.
Saland, the former prosecutor, said a huge factor in the case will be
those eyewitness accounts of the interaction and whether the use of force
was justified.
"Was that threat real and imminent? We're basing that on a reasonable
person's standard here," Saland said. "This is why it's not just going to
rest on what Penny says but what these other people said in terms of their
observations of what occurred."
CNN's Jessica Xing, Ray Sanchez, Sharif Paget and Veronica Stracqualursi
contributed to this report.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the May 2023 chokehold
death of 30-year-old Jordan Neely. Penny has pleaded not guilty and argued
he was acting to protect others.
Neely had boarded a crowded subway in Manhattan and was acting erratically
and loudly yelling, according to witnesses. Penny, who is White, then
grabbed Neely from behind and put him in a chokehold, and he maintained
that hold for about six minutes, including after Neely stopped moving,
according to prosecutors.
Neely was later pronounced dead at a hospital. A medical examiner ruled
his death a homicide.
Several minutes of the chokehold were captured on bystander video, leading
to protests and calls for Penny to be arrested. Others have defended
Penny's actions and have donated over $3 million to his legal defense
fund.
Penny surrendered to police on a manslaughter charge nearly two weeks
after Neely's death, and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office
announced an indictment at the end of the following month.
"Jordan Neely took his last breaths on the dirty floor of an uptown F
train," Manhattan prosecutor Dafna Yoran said Friday in her opening
statement. "At the time he died he was 30 years old, homeless, suffering
from mental illness."
"We pass people like Jordan Neely every day in New York City, on our way
to the store, on our way to work, on our way back." Yoran continued. "We
are trained not to engage, to pretend that they are not there."
Neely walked into a moderately packed subway car and began screaming
threats. He talked about being hungry and thirsty. His voice was loud, the
prosecutor said.
In response, "The defendant Daniel Penny took it upon himself to
neutralize him. He wrapped his legs around Mr. Neely's body and held him
there. Seconds later the train arrived at the train station," Yoran said.
"With no one left to protect, the defendant nonetheless kept Mr. Neely in
a deadly chokehold for an additional 5 minutes and 53 seconds."
"He continued to choke Jordan Neely after Mr. Neely had lost
consciousness."
Penny has specialized training in chokeholds, "so he knew that continuing
to choke Mr. Neely once he had already passed out could and would lead to
his death," Yoran said, detailing the defendant's military background.
The prosecutor said Penny "went way too far."
"His indifference towards Mr. Neely – the man whose life he was literally
holding in his hands - caused him to disregard basic precautions, in
contravention of the law and human decency."
After releasing him from the deadly chokehold, Penny "didn't look back,"
Yoran said.
"He went and picked up his hat that had fallen off, he dusted himself off
and then he stood over Mr. Neely, waiting for the police."
The prosecutor pointed out that despite being trained in first aid, Penny
never once attempted to help Neely.
Yoran detailed some of the evidence that will be presented to the jury,
including video captured by journalist Juan Alberto Vasquez, calling it
the "single most important piece of evidence." Yoran warned that jurors
will see Neely's "life being snuffed out."
Before opening statements, Penny, dressed in a navy blue suit, light blue
shirt and dark tie, could be seen saying "good morning" to court staff
before taking a seat at the defense table. Neely's father along with other
supporters are sitting in the back of the courtroom.
With protests outside the courthouse audible inside the courtroom,
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Maxwell Wiley instructed the jury to not
listen to the words being yelled.
"Anything you should hear outside the courtroom has nothinga to do with
this," Wiley said. "If you hear people expressing opinions outside this
court, ignore them."
The killing has polarized city residents, many of whom have personal
experiences with disorder on the subways, and raised broader questions
about the racial dynamics at play and how the city treats people with
mental health issues. Former President Donald Trump said in an interview
with Fox News last week it was "an awfully tough case."
At jury selection over the last two weeks, most jurors said they ride the
subway frequently and have witnessed outbursts by people acting
erratically on the trains. Some said these outbursts made them feel
"personally threatened," while others said the outbursts did not.
Penny has said Neely was acting in a threatening manner, and his attorneys
have said they are confident a jury will find his actions were "fully
justified." Penny, who is out of jail on a $100,000 bond, faces up to 15
years in prison if convicted of manslaughter and up to 4 years if
convicted of criminally negligent homicide.
Jeremy Saland, a former prosecutor for the Manhattan District Attorney's
Office, said the case touches on a lot of major issues and emotions.
"This is something that is relatable to so many people and that's why it's
enraged the passion on both sides, from ‘Leave Penny alone, all he was
doing was protecting the lives of fellow subway riders,' and on the flip
side, ‘He needs to be held accountable for taking the life of another
person.'"
Witness describes chokehold death incident on New York's subway (2023)
03:41 - Source: CNN
The evidence is likely to focus on testimony from witnesses on board the
train that day, as well as experts in medicine and restraint tactics. The
defense has said they have not decided if Penny will testify.
The fatal encounter happened on the afternoon of May 1, 2023, on a
northbound F train at the Second Avenue station in Manhattan.
Neely, a Michael Jackson impersonator, shouted at passengers that he was
hungry, thirsty and tired of having nothing, and he threw his jacket on
the train's floor, according to Juan Alberto Vazquez, a witness who filmed
the incident.
"I don't care if I die. I don't care if I go to jail," Neely said,
according to Vazquez.
Penny then came up behind Neely and put him in a chokehold, and the two
fell to the ground and remained there for several minutes. When police
arrived at the subway station in Lower Manhattan before 2:30 p.m., they
administered first aid to an unconscious Neely.
In a court filing, prosecutors said witness accounts differed about
Neely's exact words and actions prior to the chokehold. While a few
witnesses stated they were fearful of Neely, others felt differently,
including one person who described the moment as being "like another day
typically in New York."
None of the witnesses said Neely had physical contact with anyone before
Penny came up behind him, according to the prosecution filing.
"Many witnesses relayed that Mr. Neely expressed that he was homeless,
hungry, and thirsty. Most recount that Mr. Neely indicated a willingness
to go to jail or prison," the prosecutor wrote in the filing.
Penny told police that Neely was "irate" and "threatening everybody" and
that others on the train were afraid, according to court records filed
last June. "I just put him out. I just put him in a chokehold," Penny
said.
Penny also told the New York Post he was "deeply saddened by the loss of
life" and the incident "had nothing to do with race."
Penny is a veteran who served in the US Marines, according to law
enforcement and military records. He was a sergeant and served from 2017
to 2021, and his last duty assignment was at Camp Lejeune in North
Carolina, military records show.
Thomas Kenniff, Penny's attorney, said his client was trying to help
others on the subway who were afraid of Neely. He also challenged the
medical examiner's determination that the chokehold caused Neely's death.
"Our client was coming to the aid of others. He didn't cause Mr. Neely's
death, he didn't intend Mr. Neely's death, he didn't foresee Mr. Neely's
death," Kenniff said in a news conference October 21.
"His actions are what any of us who, if we were riding the subway and we
saw someone behaving in the manner that Mr. Neely was behaving –
threatening the lives of men, women and children on the subway train –
that we would all want someone to do that for us," he added.
Neely was known for his smooth Michael Jackson dance moves that
entertained many - yet he struggled after the trauma of his mother's
murder in 2007, when he was 14 years old. Neely was on a New York City
Department of Homeless Services list of the city's homeless with acute
needs, sometimes referred to internally as the "Top 50" list, a source
told CNN last year.
Donte Mills, the attorney representing Neely's family, said the street
performer's loved ones have not moved on from the subway killing and they
never will.
"The fact of the case is this: Someone got on the train and was screaming,
and someone choked that person to death," Mills said in a news conference
October 21. "Those things will never balance out, and there's no
justification that can make those things balance out."
Mills said there will be as many as 20 family members attending the trial.
Saland, the former prosecutor, said a huge factor in the case will be
those eyewitness accounts of the interaction and whether the use of force
was justified.
"Was that threat real and imminent? We're basing that on a reasonable
person's standard here," Saland said. "This is why it's not just going to
rest on what Penny says but what these other people said in terms of their
observations of what occurred."
CNN's Jessica Xing, Ray Sanchez, Sharif Paget and Veronica Stracqualursi
contributed to this report.
This is a developing story and will be updated.