Prosecutors in the trial of Daniel Penny, charged in the chokehold death of Jordan Neely on a New York City subway in May 2023, moved on Friday to dismiss the more serious charge of second-degree manslaughter. This followed a Manhattan jury’s announcement that they were deadlocked after two rounds of deliberation.
Penny, a 26-year-old former Marine, faces two charges: second-degree manslaughter and the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide. He cannot be convicted of both. Jurors can only consider the lesser charge if they acquit him of manslaughter.
After over 20 hours of deliberations spread across four days, the jury informed Judge Maxwell Wiley they were unable to reach a unanimous decision on the manslaughter charge.
Prosecutors signaled their willingness to allow the jury to move on to the lesser charge. However, Penny’s defense attorneys maintained their motion for a mistrial, arguing the panel was irreparably deadlocked.
“The jury has deliberated for 20 hours in a factually straightforward case. A mistrial is warranted,” said defense attorney Thomas Kenniff.
Despite the defense’s objections, Judge Wiley instructed jurors to continue deliberations, advising them to remain flexible and open to different perspectives.
Wiley emphasized that determining what constitutes a “reasonable