Daniel Penny trial: Judge drops top manslaughter charge, allows lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide

The judge presiding over Daniel Penney’s trial has dropped the top manslaughter charge at the request of the prosecution after an impasse over the verdict on Friday.
The jury will now take a deliberate lesser charge Criminally negligent homicideJudge Maxwell Wylie made the ruling while urging jurors to “go home and think about something else” to continue the plea.
Earlier in the day, the jury deliberates in Daniel Penney Manslaughter Trial Judge Maxwell Wylie reported that he was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on the top charge of manslaughter in the subway death of Jordan Neely.
Penny, a Marine veteran, is accused of using a fatal chokehold on Neely during a subway altercation on May 1, 2023.
Manhattan jurors, who have been deliberating since Tuesday, sent a note to the judge outlining their deadlock. Judge Wiley responded by giving the Allen charge, a legal instruction that encourages jurors to reevaluate differing opinions and try to reach a consensus.
He praised the panel’s honest efforts but reminded them that failure to agree could result in a retrial with a new jury.
The case centers on Penny’s actions during an encounter with Neely, a homeless man with a history of mental health struggles. Penny’s defense argued that he acted to protect himself and others from Neely, who witnesses said had made erratic and threatening comments.
Prosecutors argue that Penney used excessive force, failing to consider Neely as a person in crisis.
time in New York, jurors were instructed to address the manslaughter charge before moving on to the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years.
The latter carries penalties ranging from probation to four years in prison. Wiley indicated that he might allow the second charge to be discussed if the deadlock remained on manslaughter.
The trial has drawn significant public attention, with demonstrations outside the courthouse and broader debates about race, mental health and public health. Public safety.
Neely, 30, was a sometime subway performer with a tragic life story: Her mother was murdered and stuffed in a suitcase when she was a teenager. According to the AP, his adult life turned into homelessness, mental hospitalizations, drug abuse and criminal convictions, including assaulting people in subway stations.
Penny, 26, went on to study architecture. He is white. Blue was black. The case became a flashpoint in the nation’s debate over racial injustice and crime, as well as in the city’s ongoing fight to deal with homelessness and mental health crises in the transit system used by millions of New Yorkers every day.
Jury deliberations are detailed and thorough, including requests to review video evidence, medical testimony, and definitions of legal terms such as negligence and negligence.
The justices sought clarification on how to define a “reasonable person” and whether such a person would have believed Neely was going to use physical force. Judge Wiley told him it was his responsibility to decide what was a reasonable response in the circumstances.
During the month-long trial, an anonymous jury heard from witnesses, police, pathologists, a Marine Corps instructor who trained Penny in chokehold techniques, as well as Penny’s relatives, friends and fellow Marines. Penny chose not to testify. The New York Times reported that the jury made several requests to the judge after entering deliberations on Tuesday.
Discussions are expected to continue into next week if no resolution is reached.