Judge in Daniel Penny Trial Agrees to Drop Top Manslaughter Charge – JP

Manhattan prosecutors dismissed the top charge of second-degree manslaughter against Daniel Penny on Friday after a jury remained deadlocked following two rounds of deliberations in the high-profile subway chokehold case.

The case revolved around Penny’s actions during a May 2023 confrontation on a Manhattan F train, where he held Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man, in a six-minute chokehold, resulting in Neely’s death.

The jury’s inability to reach a unanimous decision on the manslaughter charge, which carries a potential sentence of up to 15 years in prison, prompted Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Maxwell Wiley to dismiss the charge.

“I’ll take a chance and grant the people’s application,” Wiley said, instructing the jury to return Monday and deliberate the charge of criminally negligent homicide, which carries a lighter sentence.

“Whether that makes any difference or not, I have no idea. But I’m going to direct you to focus your deliberations on count two,” he said with a touch of deadpan humor — before telling them: “Go home and think about something else.”

Jurors were instructed to resolve the manslaughter count before considering a lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide, which carries a maximum sentence of four years.

The case ignited intense public debate over Penny’s justification for his actions. Penny, a former Marine, argued that he acted to protect himself and others on the subway after Neely boarded the train, yelling and allegedly frightening passengers.

For Penny to be acquitted on justification grounds, the jury had to determine whether his use of force was necessary to protect himself or others and whether a “reasonable person” in his situation would have acted similarly. Jurors requested clarification on the concept of a “reasonable person” before ultimately signaling their deadlock.

The dismissal of the manslaughter charge leaves open the possibility of conviction on the lesser charge, but further proceedings are yet to be announced.