Nearly 18 months after a video of Daniel Penny fatally choking another man in a subway car in Manhattan spread online, a jury on Friday began hearing the first official arguments about whether or not his actions were criminal.
Mr. Penny, a former Marine, is charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the death of Jordan Neely, a homeless man who had a history of mental illness. Mr. Penny said he had stepped in to restrain Mr. Neely, who had been threatening passengers after boarding the train.
Opening statements began on Friday in the case, which centers on what happened as that F train traveled between stations and in the minutes after it stopped at Broadway-Lafayette Street on May 1, 2023. Prosecutors said Mr. Penny put Mr. Neely in a chokehold for nearly six minutes.
In interviews with detectives that evening, Mr. Penny said he had intervened because he felt that Mr. Neely “was absolutely killing someone” that day.
Prosecutors have argued that Mr. Penny’s actions became criminal when he refused to let go of Mr. Neely long after he had gone limp, after the train doors had opened and people had exited the subway car.
The opening statements are the first chance for the lawyers on both sides to start laying out their cases to the 12 jurors and four alternates who will spend the next several weeks listening to witnesses and experts. The trial is expected to last through Thanksgiving.
Thomas A. Kenniff, Mr. Penny’s lawyer and a former Republican candidate for Manhattan district attorney, is likely to suggest to the jury that Mr. Penny’s actions were a reasonable response in a city that is grappling with increased crime.
In pretrial filings, Mr. Penny’s lawyers have indicated that they will rely on eyewitnesses to paint Mr. Penny as a “protector” who held on to Mr. Neely until help arrived.
Around 2:30 p.m. that day, the police received 911 calls about a fight on an F train at the Broadway-Lafayette station. Shortly before, Mr. Neely had boarded the northbound train and, according to witnesses, almost immediately began acting erratically, throwing his jacket on the ground and screaming.
A four-minute video captured by a freelance journalist at the scene shows Mr. Penny on the floor of the car, his arms and legs around Mr. Neely. After the train stops and Mr. Neely is pinned down, two other men grab his arms.
Later, after the police arrived, according to body-worn camera footage, officers found Mr. Neely sprawled on the floor, unconscious. The footage shows one officer asking, “How did he end up in this condition?”
Mr. Penny, standing close by and watching, can be seen responding, “I just put him out,” and holding up his hands in an X, crossed in front of him.
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