Both the prosecutors and defense attorneys are on the same page regarding Marine veteran Daniel Penny’s encounter last year with a troubled, angry man on a New York subway: he didn’t intend to kill him.
However, during opening statements on Friday, a prosecutor pointed out that Penny went too far in his efforts to subdue someone he perceived as a threat rather than seeing him as a person.
On the flip side, Penny’s defense lawyer argued that he acted bravely, prioritizing the safety of others when he put Jordan Neely in a chokehold that ultimately left Neely unconscious on the ground.
This manslaughter trial has sparked intense discussions about race, homelessness, public safety perceptions, and what bystanders should do in such situations.
Critics of Penny view him as a white vigilante who killed a Black man who was acting erratically and making alarming comments but wasn’t armed or had not harmed anyone in the subway car.
Supporters believe that at 25 years old, Penny was simply trying to protect frightened passengers—an action he insists was meant to defuse the situation rather than take a life.
Prosecutor Dafna Yoran emphasized to the anonymous jury that this trial isn’t about our society’s struggles with mental health and homelessness or how police respond to such incidents.
It also doesn’t hinge on whether Penny had the right to step in or his choice to use a chokehold during those tense moments.
Instead, she pointed out that he used way too much force for way too long and really crossed a line. She felt he was indifferent to Neely and failed to see him as a human being. But defense attorney Thomas Kenniff had a different take. He argued to the jurors that Penny only used the necessary force to manage an agitated man who had lunged at a woman with her young child, threatening, I will kill.
In that moment, Kenniff explained, Danny had two choices: he could look away and pray for safety or muster the bravery to prioritize his neighbors’ safety over his own. He chose the latter. While it doesn’t make him a hero, it also doesn’t label him as a killer.
Earlier in the trial, jurors were asked about their subway experiences before watching police body cam footage showing officers trying to revive Neely after Penny explained how he subdued him, referring to Neely as someone on drugs who was acting erratically.
This case has stirred up quite a bit of political tension in the U.S., with Republican leaders defending Penny while Democrats attended Neely’s funeral. Both sides have organized protests; when Penny arrived at court on Friday, he faced critical shouts from a small group of demonstrators.
Inside the courtroom, Penny sat upright at the defense table, mostly staring straight ahead while one of Neely’s family members in attendance occasionally wiped away tears.
Outside court, family lawyer Donte Mills stated clearly who they believed was the victim and who was seen as the villain in this situation.
They shared that Neely struggled with mental health issues and drug addiction after experiencing trauma when his mother was killed during his teenage years.
By age 30, though he sometimes entertained subway passengers by impersonating Michael Jackson, he also had a criminal history that included assaulting someone at a subway station.
Penny is an architecture student and former Marine who encountered Neely on May 1st while heading from class to the gym.
Witnesses noted that Neely was asking for money and making alarming comments about being ready to die or go back to jail while moving unpredictably around them.
Yoran mentioned hearing Neely talk about hurting people during this encounter. In response, Penny wrapped his arm around Neely’s neck and brought him down to the floor where he held him down using his legs.
With some bystanders recording what happened on their phones, Yoran noted that this hold lasted around six minutes until they reached a station where most riders exited—only two remained behind to help restrain Neely while another warned Penny that if he didn’t let go of him soon, things could turn deadly.
Kenniff mentioned that Penny was urging other passengers to call the police while he continued to hold Neely down, who was intermittently thrashing around and attempting to get back up. According to prosecutors, Penny finally let go of Neely almost a minute after he stopped moving.
He waited for the police to arrive, but Yoran pointed out that even though Penny had first aid training, he didn’t check if Neely was breathing or had a pulse, nor did he try to revive him.
The officers showed up roughly seven minutes after the 911 calls started flooding in; reports varied from claims of harassment to sightings of a man with a gun.
During their four-minute interaction with Penny, they searched Neely and found nothing except for a muffin in his pockets.
They noted that he had a weak pulse but wasn’t breathing. The officers then began chest compressions and used an overdose-reversal drug but skipped mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. When asked why not, Sgt. Carl Johnson said it was because Neely looked very unclean and they were concerned about possible diseases or the chance that he might wake up and vomit.
Kenniff remarked on this by highlighting the motto serve and protect, questioning if Johnson would have opted for rescue breaths if they had protective masks available.
Johnson responded no, explaining there are limits when it comes to protecting their own officers. Eventually, Neely’s pulse disappeared altogether.
Penny told the police his intention was just to calm down what felt like a tense situation; he claimed he wasn’t trying to hurt Neely but rather prevent him from causing harm to others.
However, city medical examiners concluded that Neely died due to neck compression—a finding that Penny’s lawyers are challenging.