Daniel Penny was found not guilty on the criminally negligent homicide charges. The jury came to a unanimous verdict and Penny is officially acquitted on all charges in the criminal case.
Penny is known for taking action against Jordan Neely, putting him in a chokehold and holding him down on a crowded subway in New York until the passengers got off the train. Neely had been acting erratic, threatening passengers, and Penny – a former Marine – intervened to keep the passengers safe. No passengers were hurt thanks to Penny taking action, but Jordan Neely had unfortunately passed away.
Toxicologists found a mix of drugs in Jordan Neely’s system and testified that the drug mixture likely contributed to his death more than the physical entanglement with Daniel Penny. Trending Politics reported more details on the acquittal of Daniel Penny in the Jordan Neely case:
Among the testimony heard by jurors was that of Dr. Cynthia Harris, who testified that the amount of illicit drugs in Neely’s system at the time of his death was a greater contributing factor than Penny’s instinctual action to protect fellow passengers from the fist-wielding homeless man. “No toxicological result imaginable was going to change my opinion,” Harris said, even if they showed “enough fentanyl to put down an elephant.” Other toxicology experts have testified about results showing Neely had also ingested K2, a powerful synthetic marijuana that can cause hallucinations, before his death. Their testimony was at odds with arguments by prosecutors within District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, who said it was primarily Penny’s chokehold that killed Neely.
Bodycam footage was also played in court, showing multiple eyewitnesses testifying that it was Penny’s actions that saved them from harm rather than contributed to Neely’s death. One woman told a responding officer that Penny, in fact, moved to only apply as much force as was necessary and that riders feared Neely, a Michael Jackson impersonator, of carrying a knife after he began behaving erratically and shaking his fist at several passengers. “Danny acted when others didn’t,” defense attorney Steven Raiser said in the hours-long closing arguments on Friday. “He put his life on the line. He did that for perfect strangers. Who would you want on the next train ride with you?”
