<p><img src="/gcdn/authoring/authoring-images/2024/10/15/USAT/75690256007-20230519-t-164733-z-1639198053-rc-2-s-11-aozf-3-v-rtrmadp-3-usacrimenewyork.JPG?crop=3807,2143,x0,y200&width=660&height=371&format=pjpg&auto=webp" width="100%" /><p>NEW YORK − The manslaughter trial in <a href="/story/news/nation/2024/01/17/daniel-penny-new-york-subway-chokehold-death-court-appearance/72097114007/">the death of Jordan Neely</a> begins in Manhattan Supreme Court on Monday with jury selection, more than a year after Marine veteran Daniel Penny crossed paths with the New York City street performer <a href="/story/news/nation/2023/05/17/how-americans-view-jordan-neely-new-york-subway-death/70218384007/">in a crowded subway car</a>.</p><p>Penny, 26, faces charges of second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide and has <a href="/story/news/nation/2023/06/28/daniel-penny-pleads-not-guilty-in-subway-chokehold-death-of-jordan-neely/70363815007/">pleaded not guilty</a> after video of the interaction between the two appeared to show Penny <a href="/story/news/nation/2023/05/11/manslaughter-charge-jordan-neely-chokehold-death/70209542007/">place Neely in a chokehold</a> after the 30-year-old man was yelling, saying he was hungry, thirsty and ready to kill someone.</p><p>Lawyers and law enforcement have spent months analyzing bystander videos of the May 1, 2023, incident, in which Penny, who was honorably discharged from the Marines in 2021, wrapped his arms around Neely's neck, pinning him while the two were on the floor of the train.</p><p><strong>Who was Jordan Neely?</strong><a href="/story/news/nation/2023/05/07/who-was-jordan-neely/70190944007/">A 'young man in real crisis,' advocates say</a></p><p>Lawyers for Penny will argue he did not intend to harm Neely, who advocates said experienced homelessness on and off through his life, and that several witnesses feared for their safety that day on the subway, defense lawyer Steve Raiser told USA TODAY.</p><p>"The people on that train with Danny feared for their lives. Nearly everybody there who testified that was in the reach of Mr. Neely was afraid of him," Raiser said. "We have to remember that Mr. Neely was making threats that he was going to kill people."</p><p>Opening statements are expected during the second week of November, according to Raiser. It could take six weeks to reach a verdict, the court announced this month.</p><img width="100%" /><h2>What to expect at Daniel Penny trial</h2><p>During the trial, lawyers will present evidence ranging from bystander videos to statements Penny made to police following the incident − statements that the defense previously fought to exclude from the trial.</p><p>In one statement given to police immediately after the incident, Penny said Neely “came on the train threatening people. I put him out," court documents show.</p><p>Prosecutors are expected to argue second-degree manslaughter is the appropriate charge for Penny because he acted "recklessly" when he caused Neely's death.</p><p>According to court documents filed by the prosecution, the law defines "reckless" behavior as someone ignoring "substantial and unjustifiable risk."</p><p>The prosecution also argues in court documents that manslaughter is the correct charge because the medical examiner ruled Neely's cause of death to be "compression of the neck."</p><img width="100%" /><p>A Marine with a black belt in karate is scheduled to take the stand as an expert, Raiser said, and is expected to explain to the jury that the restraining hold Penny applied to Neely was non-fatal, and technically not a chokehold.</p><p>The man trained Penny in the Marines years ago, alongside many other Marines and the two did not have a personal relationship, Raiser said.</p><p>The defense's argument will hinge around the idea that many subway passengers, including a mother and her young child, were fearful of Neely, who was shouting and saying he would kill someone seconds before Penny grabbed him from behind and took him to the floor.</p><p>"When somebody like Mr. Neely is screaming and speaking with such conviction that he's going to kill somebody, you tend to believe he has the means in which to do that," Raiser said.</p><p>The Manhattan District Attorney's Office told USA TODAY it could not comment further on the case besides what prosecutors have laid out in court filings.</p><p>Prosecutors have argued in court documents that accounts from subway passengers vary widely, including some who said Neely's outbursts were not out of the ordinary on New York City public transit.</p><img width="100%" /><h2>Videos supports Penny's actions, defense says</h2><p>A video circulated online shows part of the incident and begins with Penny holding Neely in a chokehold on the floor after several minutes of holding him down off-camera. The two are in a locked position for about seven more minutes, when Penny releases Neely, who remained crumpled on the ground.</p><p>"The video we have right now we believe is helpful to Danny," Raiser said, explaining that Neely is obviously conscious. If Penny had administered a more forceful chokehold, Neely would have been unconscious in seconds, Raiser said.</p><p>Police who responded to the scene told investigators Neely was not breathing, and he was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. Penny was taken to a police station, questioned and released that day. Penny surrendered more than a week after the incident. In June 2023, Penny was <a href="/story/news/nation/2023/06/14/new-york-subway-death-marine-vet-indicted-in-fatal-chokehold/70323467007/">indicted by a grand jury</a> on a second-degree manslaughter charge.</p><a href="/picture-gallery/news/politics/2021/06/23/eric-adams-look-new-york-city-mayoral-candidate/5320425001/"><img width="100%" /></a><p>In the days following, lawyers in New York City advocating for Neely's family decried the New York Police Department's decision to release Penny after initial questioning and not hold him in custody following Neely's death.</p><p>"He should have been arrested on the spot," Lennon Edwards, a lawyer for Neely's relatives, said at the time.</p></p>
NEW YORK − The manslaughter trial in the death of Jordan Neely begins in Manhattan Supreme Court on Monday with jury selection, more than a year after Marine veteran Daniel Penny crossed paths with the New York City street performer in a crowded subway car.
Penny, 26, faces charges of second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide and has pleaded not guilty after video of the interaction between the two appeared to show Penny place Neely in a chokehold after the 30-year-old man was yelling, saying he was hungry, thirsty and ready to kill someone.
Lawyers and law enforcement have spent months analyzing bystander videos of the May 1, 2023, incident, in which Penny, who was honorably discharged from the Marines in 2021, wrapped his arms around Neely's neck, pinning him while the two were on the floor of the train.
Who was Jordan Neely?A 'young man in real crisis,' advocates say
Lawyers for Penny will argue he did not intend to harm Neely, who advocates said experienced homelessness on and off through his life, and that several witnesses feared for their safety that day on the subway, defense lawyer Steve Raiser told USA TODAY.
"The people on that train with Danny feared for their lives. Nearly everybody there who testified that was in the reach of Mr. Neely was afraid of him," Raiser said. "We have to remember that Mr. Neely was making threats that he was going to kill people."
Opening statements are expected during the second week of November, according to Raiser. It could take six weeks to reach a verdict, the court announced this month.
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What to expect at Daniel Penny trial
During the trial, lawyers will present evidence ranging from bystander videos to statements Penny made to police following the incident − statements that the defense previously fought to exclude from the trial.
In one statement given to police immediately after the incident, Penny said Neely “came on the train threatening people. I put him out," court documents show.
Prosecutors are expected to argue second-degree manslaughter is the appropriate charge for Penny because he acted "recklessly" when he caused Neely's death.
According to court documents filed by the prosecution, the law defines "reckless" behavior as someone ignoring "substantial and unjustifiable risk."
The prosecution also argues in court documents that manslaughter is the correct charge because the medical examiner ruled Neely's cause of death to be "compression of the neck."
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A Marine with a black belt in karate is scheduled to take the stand as an expert, Raiser said, and is expected to explain to the jury that the restraining hold Penny applied to Neely was non-fatal, and technically not a chokehold.
The man trained Penny in the Marines years ago, alongside many other Marines and the two did not have a personal relationship, Raiser said.
The defense's argument will hinge around the idea that many subway passengers, including a mother and her young child, were fearful of Neely, who was shouting and saying he would kill someone seconds before Penny grabbed him from behind and took him to the floor.
"When somebody like Mr. Neely is screaming and speaking with such conviction that he's going to kill somebody, you tend to believe he has the means in which to do that," Raiser said.
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office told USA TODAY it could not comment further on the case besides what prosecutors have laid out in court filings.
Prosecutors have argued in court documents that accounts from subway passengers vary widely, including some who said Neely's outbursts were not out of the ordinary on New York City public transit.
![]()
Videos supports Penny's actions, defense says
A video circulated online shows part of the incident and begins with Penny holding Neely in a chokehold on the floor after several minutes of holding him down off-camera. The two are in a locked position for about seven more minutes, when Penny releases Neely, who remained crumpled on the ground.
"The video we have right now we believe is helpful to Danny," Raiser said, explaining that Neely is obviously conscious. If Penny had administered a more forceful chokehold, Neely would have been unconscious in seconds, Raiser said.
Police who responded to the scene told investigators Neely was not breathing, and he was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. Penny was taken to a police station, questioned and released that day. Penny surrendered more than a week after the incident. In June 2023, Penny was indicted by a grand jury on a second-degree manslaughter charge.
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In the days following, lawyers in New York City advocating for Neely's family decried the New York Police Department's decision to release Penny after initial questioning and not hold him in custody following Neely's death.
"He should have been arrested on the spot," Lennon Edwards, a lawyer for Neely's relatives, said at the time.
