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With a Manhattan jury set to deliberate, here's what we know about the subway chokehold case
By
Samantha Max
Published Dec 1, 2024
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Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images
By
Samantha Max
Published Dec 1, 2024
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This week, a jury will begin deliberations in the trial of a former Marine accused of fatally choking a man on the subway in Manhattan. Daniel Penny has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide charges in Jordan Neely’s death.
A video that captured several minutes of the chokehold went viral and sparked debates about whether Penny acted as a hero or a vigilante. The case before a jury in in Manhattan touches on issues that are deeply personal — and politically charged — to many New Yorkers, including subway safety, homelessness and mental illness.
As we await a verdict, Gothamist has this recap to help you catch up with the trial's highlights.
What happened?
On May 1, 2023, Jordan Neely stuck his hand through the closing doors of an uptown F train and boarded just before it pulled away from the Second Avenue station on the Lower East Side, witnesses testified. People who were on the subway said Neely yelled that he was hungry, thirsty and ready to die or go to jail. A defense attorney said Penny heard Neely threaten “I will kill” while walking toward a mother and her child, though the mother testified that she never heard Neely say those words.
Fewer than 30 seconds later, Penny wrapped his arm around Neely’s neck, pulled him to the floor and put him in a chokehold. Penny then held Neely there for about six minutes, according to evidence presented at trial. When Penny let go, Neely was limp. Neely was pronounced dead at a hospital shortly afterward. Police found a muffin in his pocket but no weapons.
Penny, 26, is a former Marine from West Islip. Neely, 30, once performed on the subway and in Times Square as a Michael Jackson impersonator. At the time that Neely died he was homeless, had severe schizophrenia and regularly used synthetic cannabinoids, according to court records.
What is each side arguing?
Prosecutors say Penny had noble intentions to protect fellow subway riders but went “way too far” when he continued to hold his arm around Neely’s neck for several minutes — even after the subway doors opened and the train stopped moving, and for almost a minute after Neely had essentially stopped moving. They’ve relied on the findings of the medical examiner who conducted Neely’s autopsy and determined that Penny’s chokehold directly caused Neely’s death, and argued Penny should have known continuing a chokehold for that much time could have killed Neely.
Defense attorneys say Penny didn’t mean to kill Neely and was merely trying to restrain Neely until police arrived because Penny and other passengers were afraid of Neely. They also called their own medical expert to cast doubt on the cause of Neely’s death, arguing that other factors, like a genetic condition and his drug use, could have killed him.
Who were some of the key witnesses in the case?
Jurors heard from several people who were on the subway the day of the chokehold, including the independent journalist who filmed the cellphone video that put this case in the spotlight. Several commuters said they were terrified — that Neely’s behavior went beyond a typical outburst on the subway — and that they were relieved when Penny restrained him. Others said they didn’t like how Penny was holding Neely and tried to convince him to let go, without success.
One man who helped to restrain Neely spoke publicly for the first time, telling jurors that he lied to law enforcement about what happened. Eric Gonzalez, who held Neely’s arms during part of the incident, said he told police and prosecutors that Neely hit him on the train, and that’s why Penny put him in a chokehold. But Gonzalez actually wasn’t on the subway at the time and walked onto the car at the Broadway-Lafayette station once Neely was already on the floor. Prosecutors agreed before the trial not to prosecute Gonzalez for his role in the incident.
Each side also called several expert witnesses. Prosecutors brought in the Marine Corps martial arts instructor who taught Penny chokehold techniques. He testified that Penny didn’t follow his training and held Neely in a way that didn’t match the types of chokeholds he had learned to apply. Defense attorneys called a psychiatric expert who evaluated thousands of pages of Neely’s medical records and told jurors about Neely’s schizophrenia and drug use.
Prosecutors have to prove that Penny caused Neely’s death. What evidence did they provide? And what was the defense’s response?
The medical examiner who conducted Neely’s autopsy testified over three days, which included an intense cross examination by Penny’s defense lawyer. Dr. Cynthia Harris told jurors that Penny’s chokehold impeded Neely’s oxygen flow and caused him to asphyxiate. She said Neely wouldn’t have died if his neck hadn’t been compressed, and that she and her colleagues felt sure the chokehold was the cause of death after watching a video of the incident.
Defense attorneys called their own forensic pathologist, who they paid nearly $100,000 to review Neely’s autopsy and make his own assessment on the cause of death. Dr. Satish Chundru testified that a cascade of factors contributed to Neely’s death, including his schizophrenia, the drugs in his system and a genetic trait called sickle cell that can make it difficult for blood cells to carry oxygen under extreme conditions. He said the chokehold itself did not kill Neely.
Did Penny testify?
No. And that’s pretty typical for criminal trials, since defendants aren’t required to take the stand. Instead, defense attorneys brought in several of Penny’s loved ones, who testified about about his character. Penny’s mother said her son has a “very soft side” and a childhood friend described him as kind and peaceful.
Jurors did hear directly from Penny in several videos that were played in court. They watched Penny’s brief interactions with police on the subway immediately after he held Neely in a chokehold. The jury also saw his 30-minute recorded interview with detectives at the precinct later that day. In that conversation, Penny called Neely a “crackhead” and said Neely was “acting like a lunatic.” Penny also said he’s normally “not a confrontational guy” and that he stepped in to protect women and children on the train.
“I’m not trying to kill the guy,” he told detectives. “I’m just trying to de-escalate the situation.”
What happens next?
Closing statements are scheduled for Monday morning. Then, a judge will instruct jurors on the laws they’ll have to consider in this case. The jury will deliberate in an effort to reach a unanimous verdict.
Tagged
transit
public safety
manhattan
Samantha Max
Samantha reports on whether New Yorkers feel safe and whether the institutions that are supposed to protect them are working. Before coming to WNYC/Gothamist, she spent three years covering the criminal justice system in Tennessee for Nashville Public Radio. Her reporting on Nashville's police department received multiple awards, including the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. Samantha was also part of the inaugural class of Report for America, a service journalism program that sends up-and-coming reporters to local newsrooms across the country. She is a Northwestern University grad, a Baltimore native and fluent in Spanish. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal: samanthamaxwnyc.93.
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