The jury deliberating the fate of Daniel Penny, a former Marine charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of Jordan Neely on a NYC subway, has informed the judge that they cannot reach a unanimous decision on the manslaughter charge.
On Friday, after four days of intense deliberation, the jurors sent a note to Judge Maxwell Wiley indicating their deadlock. This has led to the dismissal of the manslaughter charge by the judge at the request of the prosecution, allowing the jury to now focus solely on the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide.
Daniel Penny, 26, faces up to four years in prison if convicted of criminally negligent homicide. The jury, composed of seven women and five men, will continue their deliberations on Monday.
The incident in question took place on May 1, 2023, when Penny placed Neely, a 30-year-old man known for his Michael Jackson impersonations, in a chokehold after Neely was acting erratically on a subway train, threatening passengers. The city’s medical examiner determined Neely’s cause of death to be compression of the neck, while Penny’s defense has argued that Neely’s death could be attributed to a combination of factors including his mental health, drug use, and a genetic condition.
