Daniel Penny chose not to testify and defense lawyers rested their case Friday at his trial in the death of an agitated man he choked on a subway train.
Closing arguments are expected after Thanksgiving in the closely watched manslaughter case about the death of Jordan Neely, 30.
The encounter between Penny, a white Marine veteran, and Neely, a homeless Black man with mental health and drug problems, has been drawn into U.S. political divides over race, public safety and cities’ ability to handle mental illness and social ills.
Penny, 26, has pleaded not guilty. Many criminal defendants don’t take the stand, and juries are routinely instructed that they cannot hold defendants’ silence – a constitutional right – against them.
One of Penny’s lawyers, Daniel Kenniff, noted after court that jurors did hear from Penny, in the form of his recorded statements to police minutes and hours after he put Neely in a chokehold.
‘Virtually everything he said then is consistent with credible testimony of his fellow passengers,’ Kenniff said.
Penny told police that he wrapped his arm around Neely’s neck, took him to the floor and ‘put him out’ because he was angrily throwing things and making threatening comments.
Penny said on police video that he hadn’t wanted to injure Neely but rather to keep him from hurting anyone else.
Marine veteran Daniel Penny, accused of killing a menacing homeless man when he placed him in a six-minute chokehold on a train, chose not to testify in the case against him
Penny held Neely in a chokehold on the subway car floor while others assisted on May 1, 2023
A number of other passengers testified that they were scared of Neely and relieved that Penny grabbed hold of him.
A man who later stepped in and held down Neely’s arms, however, told jurors that he urged Penny to let go but that the veteran kept choking Neely for a time.
Prosecutors say Penny meant to protect people but recklessly used too much force, overlooking Neely’s humanity and making no effort to spare his life.
City medical examiners ruled that the chokehold killed Neely. A pathologist hired by Penny’s defense disputed that finding.
Prosecutors, defense lawyers and the judge are set to meet Monday to hash out jury instructions.
Neely sometimes entertained subway riders as a Michael Jackson impersonator. But he also had a history of psychiatric and drug problems and a criminal record that included assaulting a woman at a subway station.
When they crossed paths in a subway car on May 1, 2023, Neely was begging for money, shouting about being willing to die or go to jail, and making sudden movements, according to witnesses.
Penny’s lawyers have said Neely lurched toward a woman with a small child and said, ‘I will kill.’
Supporters have rallied behind Penny and backed a fundraiser in his name
NYPD officers on attempt to revive Jordan Neely as he lies on the floor of an F train on May 1
Neely was a Michael Jackson impersonator who was known and recognized in Times Square (pictured in 2009)
Penny put his arm around Neely’s neck, took him to the floor and held Neely there, with Penny´s legs around him, for close to six minutes, bystander videos show.
Neely had stopped moving during roughly the last minute.
Penny’s attorneys have said he continued to hold on, while urging onlookers to call police, because Neely had tried at points to break free.
Prosecutors maintain he applied too much force for too long.
The trial, which started on November 1, is expected to last up to six weeks, and will call upon medical experts, first responders, and other passengers who were on the train that day.
