Jurors in Daniel Penny chokehold trial end 2nd day of deliberations after viewing key videos

Deliberations will resume Thursday at 10 a.m.

ByJENNIFER PELTZ AP logo
Wednesday, December 4, 2024 11:42PM
Jurors in Daniel Penny trial end 2nd day of deliberations after requesting evidence
Jury views key videos in NYC subway chokehold death trial.

NEW YORK -- Jurors resumed deliberations Wednesday and asked to review police and bystander video at the heart of the chokehold manslaughter case against Daniel Penny as well as to hear a readback of testimony.

The jury -- comprised of seven women and five men -- is considering whether to convict Penny of manslaughter and negligent homicide in the death of Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man, on a New York City subway train.

Within about an hour of starting a second day of deliberations, the anonymous jury sought a second look at videos captured by the body cameras of officers who responded to the subway car where Penny grabbed hold of Jordan Neely, an agitated man whose behavior and words were frightening passengers.

Jurors also wanted to revisit video shot by a Mexican journalist who was on the train that depicts much of the roughly six-minute restraint, and police video of Penny's station house interview with detectives.

Later in the day, the jury asked to hear part of the cross-examination of the city medical examiner who concluded Penny's chokehold killed Neely.

The medical examiner was the final witness for the prosecution. She concluded Neely died from compression to the neck, a conclusion the defense challenged.

She never wavered from her view under intense cross-examination, during which the defense suggested public sentiment about the case had influenced her findings.

The defense argued Neely actually died of a genetic condition, psychosis and synthetic marijuana.

A note on Tuesday asked for the judge's instructions about justification.

To convict, prosecutors have told the jury that Penny's use of lethal force must be considered unjustifiable and that Penny acted recklessly and consciously disregarded the substantial risk of putting Neely in the chokehold for so long. Defense attorneys told the jury that Penny was only trying to protect subway passengers.

Defense attorneys also said that Penny never intended to kill Neely, while prosecutors said they do not have to prove Penny intended to kill Neely to have the jury hand down a guilty verdict.

Wiley told jurors Tuesday that if they convict Penny of manslaughter, they won't be asked for a verdict on the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide. If they decide he's not guilty of manslaughter, they'll consider the second charge.

Manslaughter requires proving that a defendant recklessly caused another person's death. The standard entails, among other things, consciously disregarding a substantial and unjustifiable risk that an action will be deadly.

Criminally negligent homicide, on the other hand, involves engaging in serious "blameworthy conduct" while not perceiving such a risk.

Both charges are felonies. Neither carries mandatory prison time, but both carry the possibility of it - up to 15 years for manslaughter, or four for criminally negligent homicide.

Deliberations will resume Thursday at 10 a.m. with about 30 more minutes of readbacks.

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Some information from ABC News and the Associated Press

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