Daniel Penny Acquitted in Connection with N.Y.C. Subway Death of Jordan Neely

Daniel Penny, the man charged with killing Jordan Neely on a New York City subway train, was found not guilty of criminally negligent homicide by a Manhattan jury on Monday, Dec. 9.

Penny had also previously been charged with manslaughter, but Judge Maxwell Wiley had agreed to drop the manslaughter charges at the request of the Manhattan District Attorney after the jury was unable to reach a verdict last week.

The jury returned the verdict of not guilty on Monday after spending the morning deliberating the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide, which carried a potential sentence of four years in prison.

Penny, a White Marine veteran, had been charged in connection with the May 2023 incident that was captured on video.

Footage of the encounter, which made national headlines, shows Penny, who was 24 at the time of the incident, restraining Neely, a Black man who was experiencing homelessness at the time, by the neck on the floor of the subway train in Manhattan, as two other passengers appear to come to Penny’s aid.

Neely, 30, had boarded a northbound F train at Second Avenue on May 1, 2023. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said that Neely verbally threatened passengers once on board.

CNN, citing witnesses, reported that Neely — a noted Michael Jackson impersonator — said he didn’t care if he went back to jail and complained of being hungry.

Prosecutors say that Penny put Neely in a chokehold for several minutes after approaching him from behind, and that eventually Neely’s body stopped moving and he was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The Associated Press reported that prosecutors had argued that Penny was indifferent to Neely’s life and noted that he continued the hold on him even after the train had stopped and the doors had opened.

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The defense argued that the pressure on Neely’s neck wasn’t applied consistently enough to kill him, the AP reported.

When video of the fatal encounter went viral, it sparked national outrage and led to widespread protests in New York City. The incident sparked national debates on racism, vigilante justice and the treatment of the homeless and mentally ill.

Penny could still face financial liability for the incident. Neely’s father, Andre Zachery, filed a civil suit against Penny, accusing him of causing his son’s death through “negligence, carelessness, and recklessness.”

In a statement, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said he “respects” the verdict while condemning what he said were “hate and threats” directed at prosecutors trying the case for the DA’s office.

“Over the duration of this trial, talented career prosecutors and their family members were besieged with hate and threats – on social media, by phone and over email,” said Bragg. “Simply put, this is unacceptable, and everyone, no matter your opinion on this case, should condemn it.”