Prosecution rests, defense calls first witnesses in trial of man accused in chokehold death on NYC subway
After having called more than 30 witnesses, the prosecution in the manslaughter trial of Daniel Penny, who is charged in the chokehold death of Jordan Neely, rested its case Monday.
After having called more than 30 witnesses, the prosecution in the manslaughter trial of Daniel Penny, who is charged in the chokehold death of Jordan Neely, rested its case Monday.
Penny, a former Marine, is also charged with criminally negligent homicide in the May 1, 2023, killing of Neely, who struggled with mental illness and homelessness. Neely had screamed threats, including about wanting to go back to jail for life, and talked about being hungry and thirsty when he boarded an uptown F train that day. Some witnesses testified that they were afraid of him. Penny put him in a chokehold that lasted about six minutes, prosecutors have said and evidence presented at trial has shown.
Penny’s attorneys have said he acted to protect himself and other subway riders from “a seething, psychotic” Neely. Prosecutors argue that Penny acted recklessly by releasing Neely only after he was already unconscious and had gone limp and that he failed to see his humanity.
The case put a spotlight on issues of race relations and public safety within the city’s subway system. Penny, 26, is white. Neely, who was 30 when he died, was Black. Many, including elected Republican officials, have labeled Penny a hero and helped raise more than $3 million for his legal fund. But others have compared his actions to those of a vigilante.
Jordan Neely in New York City in 2009.Andrew Savulich / TNS via Getty Images file Monday began with testimony from Dr. Cynthia Harris, the medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Neely and ruled that he died from compression to his neck as a result of the chokehold. She took the stand Thursday afternoon and testified all day Friday and most of the day Monday.
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