Daniel Penny has been found not guilty on all counts.
Daniel Penny held down a man on a subway who was threatening to kill people and put the man in a choke hold. The man did not survive but all of the passengers did. For his actions, Penny was arrested and indicted.
Today Penny was found not guilty on all charges.
Daniel Penny was acquitted Monday of criminally negligent homicide in the chokehold death of Jordan Neely, a 30-year-oldhomeless man with a history of mental illness whose final moments on a New York City subway train were captured on bystander video that set off weeks of protests and drew national attention.
The decision, on the fifth day of deliberations, came after the jury deadlocked Friday on the more serious charge of manslaughter, leading the judge to dismiss it. Penny faced up to four years in prison.
As the jury foreperson read the “not guilty” verdict, some observers in the courtroom applauded. Others began to audibly sob and yell, including Neely’s father, Andre Zachery, who was escorted out.
“This is America. That is the sound of Black pain,” one person said outside of the courtroom in Lower Manhattan to the reaction.
Chants of “no justice, no peace,” could be heard echoing from outside.
The case divided people in New York — and beyond — in some cases along political and racial lines. Neely was Black. Penny is white. Some people viewed Penny as callous and his actions as criminal on the day he encountered Neely, who had been shouting and acting erratically when he boarded a subway train in Manhattan on May 1, 2023. Others contend Penny was selfless in his attempt to protect fellow passengers.
BREAKING:
Daniel Penny has been found NOT GUILTY
THIS MAN IS A HERO pic.twitter.com/1QG4QNhPON
— Monica Crowley (@MonicaCrowley) December 9, 2024