New York Jury Acquits Marine Veteran in Fatal Subway Chokehold Case

A Manhattan jury on December 9, 2024, acquitted Daniel Penny of criminally negligent homicide in the subway death of Jordan Neely on May 1, 2023. Penny, a 26-year-old former Marine, faced up to four years in prison for this charge. Judge Maxwell Wiley had dismissed a second-degree manslaughter charge three days earlier after jurors, following 19 hours of deliberation, were deadlocked twice on the more severe count.

Neely, a 30-year-old homeless African-American man with a history of mental illness, died after Penny restrained him in a chokehold for several minutes. Witnesses reported Neely entered the subway car shouting that he was hungry, thirsty, and indifferent to death, which alarmed passengers. Penny testified he acted to protect others, saying, “I wasn’t trying to injure him. I’m just trying to keep him from hurting anybody else.”

The city’s medical examiner determined Neely’s death resulted from “compression of neck (chokehold).” However, Penny’s defense argued Neely’s death involved other factors, including a sickling crisis linked to his sickle cell trait and alleged K2 intoxication. A martial arts expert testified Penny, trained in chokeholds during his Marine service from 2017 to 2021, knew they could be lethal.

The trial polarized public opinion. Black Lives Matter protesters named Neely as a victim of systemic injustice, while others supported Penny as a defender of public safety. Prosecutor Dafna Yoran stated, “The defendant used way too much force for way too long,” while Penny’s attorney, Tom Kenniff, called the prosecution “misguided,” asserting Penny acted responsibly.

Neely’s father, Andre Zachary, expressed anger, declaring, “The system is rigged.” The family attorney criticized the jury for “giving up” on accountability. Meanwhile, Mayor Eric Adams tied the tragedy to the city’s “broken” mental health system, saying, “Jordan should not have had to die.”

Following his acquittal, Penny celebrated at a Lower Manhattan bar with his legal team. Separately, Neely’s family filed a lawsuit accusing Penny of negligence and seeking damages. The verdict has reignited debates over mental health, race relations, and the boundaries of self-defense.

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