NEW YORK (AP) — To some New Yorkers, he is the white vigilante who strangled an innocent black man on the subway. To others, he is the US Marine Corps veteran whose attempt to subdue a mentally ill man ended in tragedy.
A Manhattan jury will soon hear Daniel Penny, who is charged with manslaughter for putting Jordan Neely in a fatal chokehold on May 1, 2023. Jury selection in Penny’s trial begins Monday.
The trial, expected to last six weeks, will shed lithe on a murder that has been a flashpoint in the national debate over racial injustice and crime.
Neely’s death also divided a city grappling with what to do about people experiencing mental health crises in a transit system where some subway riders still don’t feel sheltered despite a decline in violent crime rates.
“There is simply no reason for Jordan Neeley to be dead today,” David Giffen, executive director of the Coalition for the Homeless, told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “So many systems failed Jordan and contributed to his death.”
Penny, 25, is out on a $100,000 bond. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of second-degree manslaughter and up to four years in prison if convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
Witnesses said Neely – a 30-year-old former Michael Jackson street impersonator who has struggled with drug addiction, mental illness and homelessness – was screaming, throwing things and behaving erratically on a Manhattan subway when Penny approached him.
With the support of two other passengers, Penny pinned Neely to the ground and held him in a chokehold for more than three minutes until Neely’s body went limp and he lost consciousness. The coroner’s office ruled the death a homicide caused by compression of the neck.
The encounter sparked nearly two weeks of protests before Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office filed charges.
Meanwhile, millions of dollars in donations poured in from across the country to support Penny cover his legal fees, including from prominent conservative figures and Republican presidential candidates.
Penny’s lawyers have argued that the Long Island native did not intend to kill Neely, but merely held him long enough for police to arrive because he was concerned for the safety of others.
“If Danny is convicted, his conviction will have a chilling effect on the right and duty of every New Yorker to stand up for one another,” Penny’s attorney, Steven Raiser, said Wednesday. “Our sincerest hope is that the New Yorkers selected for this jury will stand up for Danny, just as Danny stood up for them on this train over a year ago today.”
Penny, who served four years in the Marines before being discharged in 2021, claimed Neely screamed “I’m going to kill you” and that he was “ready to die” or go to prison for life.
But Neely’s family and supporters said he was merely screaming for support. They said his mental health deteriorated after his mother’s body was found in a suitcase in the Bronx and he testified in her boyfriend’s murder trial.
Some witnesses, including a freelance journalist who videotaped part of the altercation, also said Neely behaved aggressively and intimidated people but did not attack anyone before Penny pulled him to the ground.
Neely’s surviving family members say they have been expecting this moment and plan to attend the trial.
“I just want to look at his face and wonder why he would do something like that,” said Mildred Mahazu, Neely’s 85-year-old aunt and primary caregiver after his mother’s death. “Jordan was someone’s child. He was loved by his family.”
Neely’s uncle, Christopher Neely, agreed.
“Justice for Jordan is all we think about,” said the 45-year-old Manhattan resident. “We cannot allow Jordan’s name to be added to the list of black people killed by a racist white man without justice.”
Prosecutors argued in court papers that Penny’s actions were unjustified, reckless and negligent, even if he did not intend to kill.
They have focused on recorded statements made by Penny to police in which he describes Neely as a “crackhead,” touts his experience in the Army and demonstrates to officers the subjugation technique he used.
“I just threw him out. I just put him in a chokehold,” Penny said, according to a transcript of the recordings included in court records. “He threatened everyone.”
“I’m not trying to kill the guy,” Penny told police at another point. “I’m just trying to de-escalate the situation.”
Bragg’s office declined to comment beyond what was stated in court filings. In preliminary hearings, prosecutors sought to exclude evidence about Neely’s medical and psychological history, including his drug abuse. The judge had not released his decision on that request as of Friday.
Raiser said Penny’s defense will highlight other possible causes of Neely’s death, including high levels of the synthetic cannabinoid K2 identified in toxicology reports.
They will also argue that a widely shared video on social media proves Penny did not apply consistent enough pressure to render Neely unconscious, let alone kill him, he said.
“If he had applied that pressure, Mr. Neely would have passed out long before the video circulating online ever began,” Raiser said.
In January, Penny’s lawyers lost their attempt to have the case dismissed entirely. Then earlier this month, Judge Maxwell Wiley denied her request to block the jury from hearing Penny’s statements to police as well as body camera footage from officers who initially responded.
Penny’s lawyers argued that police should have read Penny his Miranda rights sooner and that questioning him at the police station amounted to an unlawful arrest.
But Wiley ruled in a written ruling that Penny’s statements were admissible. The judge said Penny waived his right not to incriminate himself in the interrogation room and willingly spoke to officers without an attorney present.
Christopher Neely hopes that the trial will not lose the memory of his tardy nephew.
“I want people to remember his strengths and his victories to greatness and his triumph over fears,” he wrote. “I want people to remember that mental health is a serious issue and that it requires tenderness, not spontaneous anger. Most of all, I want people to know that Jordan Neely was and continues to be loved beyond measure.”
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Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo.
