NEW YORK– To some New Yorkers, he is the white vigilante who strangled an innocent black man on the subway. To others, he is the US Marine Corps veteran whose attempt to subdue a mentally ill man ended in tragedy.
A jury in Manhattan will soon have its say Daniel Penny, who is taxed with manslaughter for placing Jordan Neely in a fatal chokehold on May 1, 2023. Jury selection in Penny’s trial begins Monday.
The legal proceedings, expected to last six weeks, will shed light on a murder that was a flashpoint in the national debate over racial injustice and crime.
Neely’s death also divided a city wrestling with what to do with people experiencing a mental health crisis in a transit system where some subway tapes hang I still don’t feel safedespite a decline in violent crime rates.
“There is simply no reason for Jordan Neeley to be dead today,” David Giffen, executive director of the Coalition for the Homeless, told the Associated Press on Wednesday. “So many systems failed Jordan and contributed to his death.”
Penny, 25, has been released on a $100,000 bond. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of second-degree manslaughter and up to four years if convicted of criminally negligent homicide.
Witnesses said Neely — a 30-year-old former Michael Jackson street impersonator who struggled with drug addiction, mental illness and homelessness — was yelling, throwing things and acting erratically on a Manhattan subway when Penny approached him.
With the help of two other passengers, Penny pinned Neely to the ground and placed him in a chokehold for more than three minutes until Neely’s body went limp and he lost consciousness. The medical examiner’s office ruled the death a homicide caused by neck compression.
The meeting led to almost two weeks of protests before Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office filed charges.
Meanwhile, millions of dollars in donations poured in from across the country to help Penny cover his legal costs, including from prominent conservative personalities and Republican candidates for president.
Penny’s attorneys have argued that the Long Island resident did not intend to kill Neely, merely to hold him long enough for police to arrive because he was concerned about the safety of others.
“If Danny is convicted, his conviction will have a chilling effect on the right and duty of every New Yorker to stand up for each other,” Penny’s attorney Steven Raiser said Wednesday. “Our sincere hope is that the New Yorkers selected for this jury will stand up for Danny, just as Danny stood up for them on that train more than a year ago today.”
Penny, who served four years in the Marines before being discharged in 2021, claiming Neely shouted, “I’m going to kill you” and that he was “ready to die” or go to prison for life.
But Neely’s family and supporters say he was simply crying out for help. They said his mental health deteriorated after his mother’s body was found in a suitcase in the Bronx and he testified at her boyfriend’s murder trial.
Some witnesses, including a freelance journalist who captured video of part of the altercation, also said Neely had acted aggressively and scared people but did not attack anyone before Penny pulled him to the ground.
Neely’s surviving family members say they have been anticipating this moment and plan to attend the trial.
“I just want to look at him and wonder why he would do something like that,” said Mildred Mahazu, Neely’s 85-year-old aunt and primary caregiver after his mother died. “Jordan was someone’s child. He was loved by his family.”
Neely’s uncle, Christopher Neely, agreed.
“Justice for Jordan is the only thing on our minds,” the 45-year-old Manhattan resident said. “We cannot allow Jordan’s name to be added to the list of black people murdered by a racist white man without justice.”
Prosecutors argued in court filings that Penny’s actions were unwarranted, reckless and negligent, even if he did not intend to kill.
They have focused on recorded statements Penny made to police, in which he describes Neely as a “crackhead,” touts his experience in the armed forces and demonstrates to officers the submission technique he used.
“I just put him outside. I just put him in a chokehold,” Penny said, according to a transcript of the recordings in the lawsuits. “He threatened everyone.”
“I’m not trying to kill that man,” Penny told police at another point. “I’m just trying to de-escalate the situation.”
Bragg’s office declined to comment beyond what is stated in the lawsuits. Prosecutors sought to exclude evidence during hearings about Neely’s medical and psychological history, including his record of substance abuse. The judge had not yet ruled on that request on Friday.
Raiser said Penny’s defense will present other possible causes for Neely’s death, including high levels of the synthetic cannabinoid known as K2 that were identified in toxicology reports.
They will also argue that video shared widely on social media proves that Penny did not consistently apply enough pressure to render Neely unconscious, let alone kill him, he said.
“If he applied that kind of pressure, Mr. Neely would have been rendered unconscious long before the video circulating online ever began,” Raiser said.
In January, Penny’s lawyers lost their bid to dismiss the case outright. Earlier this month, Judge Maxwell Wiley denied their request to prevent jurors from hearing Penny’s statements to police, as well as body camera footage from officers who initially responded.
Penny’s lawyers argued that police should have read Penny his Miranda rights earlier and that his questioning at the police station amounted to an illegal arrest.
But Wiley ruled in a written ruling that Penny’s statements were admissible. The judge said Penny waived his right against self-incrimination in the interrogation room and willingly spoke to officers without an attorney present.
As for Christopher Neely, he hopes what isn’t lost in the trial is the memory of his late cousin.
“I want people to remember his strengths, his rise to greatness and his triumph over fears,” he wrote. “I want people to remember that mental health is a serious issue and it requires tenderness, not spontaneous anger. Most importantly, I want people to know that Jordan Neely was and continues to be extremely loved.”
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Succeed Philip Marcelo twitter.com/philmarcelo.