The judge overseeing the trial of a man accused of using a deadly chokehold on an unruly subway rider dropped the main charge in the case on Friday at the request of prosecutors, allowing jurors to consider a lesser charge after they said they were deadlocked over whether Danielle Penny was… Guilty of manslaughter.
Judge Maxwell Wiley’s decision will allow jurors to deliberate on a charge of criminally negligent homicide, which would carry a lighter sentence.
Wiley urged jurors to consider the lower number, “but not today.” “Go home and think about something else.”
The judge’s decision came hours after a Manhattan jury sent him a note saying they could not agree on a manslaughter verdict. Jurors had previously been instructed that they needed to reach a verdict on the capital charge before they could consider the criminally negligent homicide charge.
Jurors have been deliberating since Tuesday over whether to convict Penney in Jordan Neely’s death. Penny, a former US Marine, put Neely in a chokehold for about six minutes on a New York City subway in May 2023 after Neely got into the car screaming and asking people for money.
Manslaughter requires proof that the defendant negligently caused the death of another person, and is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Criminally negligent homicide, which is punishable by penalties ranging from probation to up to four years in prison, involves engaging in serious “reprehensible conduct” without realizing such risk.
Wiley had earlier pressed jurors to continue, praising them for being “very conscientious in your deliberations,” and noting that it was not uncommon to have difficulties reaching a verdict.
Benny’s lawyers said he was protecting himself and other subway passengers from a volatile and mentally ill man who was making disturbing statements and gestures. Prosecutors said Benny reacted very aggressively to someone he considered a danger, not a person.
Benny faces a second charge of criminally negligent homicide, but jurors have been instructed that they must reach a verdict on the manslaughter charge before they can move on to that.
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Manslaughter requires proof that the defendant negligently caused the death of another person, and is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Criminally negligent homicide, which is punishable by penalties ranging from probation to up to four years in prison, involves engaging in serious “reprehensible conduct” without realizing such risk.
As jurors were outside the courtroom, Wiley acknowledged they might have to consider whether they could simply move to criminal negligence if they remained deadlocked on the manslaughter charge. Prosecutors suggested they could be open to this.
Shortly before taking a lunch break, the jury also asked for clarification on how to determine whether a person reasonably believed physical force was necessary.
“We would like to better understand the term ‘reasonable person,’” their memo read in part.
Wiley told the jury they had to decide what a reasonable person would do in the situation — whether the person reasonably believed Neely was about to use physical force against Benny or anyone else.
During the month-long trial, the anonymous jury heard from witnesses, police, pathologists, a Marine instructor who trained Penny in strangulation techniques, as well as Penny’s relatives, friends and fellow Marines. Benny chose not to testify.
The jury has made several other motions to the judge since deliberations began Tuesday.
They asked to review police and bystander video at the trial center. They asked to read the city coroner’s certificate. They also asked the judge to reread the criminal definitions of recklessness and negligence in open court and provide him with written copies of the laws.
Neely, 30, was a one-time subway worker with a tragic life story: His mother was murdered and buried in a suitcase when he was a teenager. His adult life was marred by homelessness, psychiatric hospitalization, drug abuse, and criminal convictions, including assaulting people in subway stations.
Penny, 26, went on to study architecture. It’s white. Indigo was black.
The case has become a flashpoint in the nation’s debate over racial injustice and crime, as well as the city’s ongoing struggle to deal with homelessness and mental health crises on a transit system used by millions of New Yorkers every day.
There were sometimes dueling demonstrations outside the courthouse, and prominent Republican politicians portrayed Penny as a hero while prominent Democrats went to Nellie’s funeral.
& Edition 2024 The Canadian Press
