The judge in Daniel Penny’s trial agreed to drop his manslaughter charge Friday, according to multiple reports.
Judge Maxwell Wiley dismissed the manslaughter charge in order to allow the jury to consider the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide.
“I am taking a chance and granting the People’s motion,” Wiley said Friday, according to the Inner City Press.
#breaking II: In Daniel Penny trial, Judge Wiley just said “I am taking a chance and granting the People’s motion” to dismiss Count 1, to allow jury to consider Count 2. Penny’s lawyers object, would clearly appeal if needed. Inner City Press live tweeting below https://t.co/6UqtB4g3Qf
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 6, 2024
Prosecutors moved to dismiss the charge after the jury told Judge Wiley they were “deadlocked,” according to NBC News. They sent Wiley two notes saying they couldn’t come to a decision on the manslaughter charge, the outlet reported.
Wiley had previously told the jury they needed to reach a unanimous decision on the manslaughter charge before he would consider the negligent homicide charge, according to NBC.
If the jury had found Penny guilty of second degree manslaughter, he would have faced up to 15 years in prison. The lesser criminally negligent homicide charge carries a maximum of four years in prison. (RELATED: ‘Cruel Irony’: Daniel Penny’s Lawyer Calls Out Prosecution As Violence Continues In NYC Subways)
Jurors will resume deliberations Monday. Wiley instructed them to decide whether or not Penny’s actions caused Neely’s death and if he had acted recklessly and in an unjustified manner, according to NBC.
US Marine veteran Daniel Penny (2L) is walked out of the New York Police Department 5th Precinct in Lower Manhattan, May 12, 2023 on his way to a arraignment after he surrendered to authorities after being charged with 2nd Degree Manslaughter in the chokehold death of Jordan Neely. The death of Jordan Neely — widely identified as a Michael Jackson impersonator who often performed on the train — earlier this month sparked outrage. TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office charged Penny, a 25-year-old former Marine, in the death of 30-year-old homeless man Jordan Neely after Penny restrained him on a subway in May 2023.
Six minutes on a subway car on May 1, 2023, divided America instantly. On one side are those who say Daniel Penny is a racially motivated vigilante who murdered Jordan Neely. On the other are those who believe he is a hero who protected his fellow riders.
But what really… pic.twitter.com/0PzCTAyqZJ
— The Free Press (@TheFP) November 25, 2024
Neely was allegedly screaming at commuters in an aggressive and threatening manner when Penny allegedly took him to the ground in an attempt to subdue him.
