Daniel Penny's lawyers blast 'desperate' prosecutors for rare jury request and 'bully' tactics
The Daniel Penny trial verdict has been thrown into uncertainty with the jury failing to reach a unanimous decision on the most severe charge.
Penny, a Marine veteran, is facing up to 15 years in prison if convicted of second degree manslaughter for placing homeless man Jordan Neely in a chokehold on a New York City subway on May 1, 2023.
Neely had been screaming and threatening passengers on the southbound F train, telling them he was ready to go to kill someone and go to jail.
Penny intervened to subdue him. He placed him in a chokehold that prosecutors claimed was fatal.
He was charged criminally - a controversial decision that has been widely condemned - and has been on trial for the last month.
But today after four days of deliberations, the jury twice failed to reach a unanimous verdict on the manslaughter charge. They have not yet deliberated the second, lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide.
Penny's attorneys are now demanding a mistrial, while prosecutors want the dismiss the manslaughter charge and have the jury focus solely on the second charge of criminally negligent homicide.
If the jury still cannot reach a unanimous decision there is a risk that the case will fall apart and be declared a mistrial. If that happens, it will then be up to the prosecution to retry the case in front of a new jury.
The difference between the two charges is whether Penny behaved recklessly vs negligently when he put Neely in the chokehold.
Daniel Penny arriving in court on Friday
The prosecutors are determined to land a conviction of either of the charges, so much so that reps from the Manhattan District Attorney's office has been contacting journalists reporting on case to try to influence coverage of the proceedings.
The 26-year-old Marine veteran is accused of manslaughter and negligent homicide following the May 2023 death of 30-year-old Michael Jackson impersonator Jordan Neely.
Neely was behaving erratically on the subway and threatening passengers when Penny put him in a chokehold which prosecutors say went 'too far' and ultimately killed Neely, who was homeless and mentally ill.
Under a barrage of public criticism for bringing charges, the prosecutors in Alvin Bragg's office have been on a mission to remind the jury that Penny may not get any prison time at all, even if he is found guilty.
That's down to the fact there is no minimum sentence for two of the charges he is facing.
The DA's office has been contacting news outlets, including Daily Mail, requesting for that fact to be pushed to the forefront of coverage.
Penny's lawyers say it's the latest desperate attempt to get the jury to convict him, on the notion that they will be more inclined to do so if they know he won't rot in prison for years.
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Penny held Neely in a chokehold on the subway car floor while others assisted on May 1, 2023
'The District Attorney's efforts to have the jury speculate as to a potential sentence are both improper and misleading.'
'While it is technically true that these charges do not carry a mandatory minimum, that is the case with most felonies in New York.
'It is equally true that the maximum sentence is 15 years in state prison.'
Lawyer Danielle Iredale said the DA's message effectively tells jurors that they don't have to be concerned about Penny's fate if convicted, because he may not ever serve a day in jail regardless.
'Defense lawyers are barred from mentioning potential sentences at trial — the reasoning being that it would be an attempt to seek sympathy from jurors who then may reach a verdict based on something other than the facts, in other words, 'He may be guilty, but 10 years is too much time,' she said.
'There is a hypocrisy to the DA's messaging. In attempting to publish the fact that there is no statutory mandatory minimum sentence, they are essentially saying, ''It's OK to convict, he may not go to the jail!''
Jurors are still deliberating as of Friday morning. They have sent several notes back into the courtroom asking for clarification about key details of the trial.
Tellingly, they have asked the judge to repeat his instructions relating to the 'justification' defense.
When he handed down jury instructions on Tuesday afternoon, Justice Wiley made a concerted effort to detail how justification works in a case like this.
District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office had been contacting media outlets telling them to include in their stories that Penny's charges do not carry a minimum sentence, Kenniff claimed in court
Assistant District Attorney Dafna Yoran repeated the possibility that Penny may not get prison time if he's found guilty. The DA's office has been asking journalists to update their stories throughout the trial to reflect that fact
