Daniel Penny acted to “protect” subway riders from “desperate” Jordan Neely, his lawyer argued Monday – asked jurors Lightning-rod Manhattan test: “Who would you like on the next train with you?”
“Danny acted when others did not act,” defense attorney Steven Ryser said during his closing statements in Manhattan Supreme Court.
“He put his life at stake. She did this to complete strangers,” he said of Penny, 26, who is charged with murder and criminally negligent homicide in the May 2023 fatal encounter.
Raiser invited jurors to imagine how they would feel if they were in the F train car where Neely – a 30-year-old homeless man with a history of mental illness and drug abuse – The straphangers are threatened by Penny before she is strangled.
“Who would you like on your next train journey?” Razer asked at the end of his hours-long summary.
“The guy with the earbuds in on the train, minding his own business, who you know will be there for you if something happens?” The lawyer continued. “Or, you just hope that someone like Neely never enters, especially when you’re all alone.”
But Assistant District Attorney Daphna Youran countered that the Navy veteran went too far by placing the unarmed, mentally ill homeless man in a deadly chokehold for six minutes — when he could have reasonably been considered a deadly threat.
“We are here today because the defendant used too much force for too long and in a very reckless manner,” Youran said.
“As a society we cannot tolerate the unjustified death of a fellow citizen,” he said.
Prosecutors told jurors that “nobody had to die” during the May 1, 2023 encounter aboard the Uptown F train as it approached the Broadway-Lafayette station.
The prosecutor believed Penny was justified in initially removing Neely, who was threatening the audience, whom a witness described as “unruly”.
But Penny’s actions turned criminal when, after almost all the frightened straphangers had left the train, he held Neely’s neck and argued with her for 51 seconds after Neely was knocked unconscious.
“There is no justification under the law and human decency for holding an unconscious man,” Youran said, showing jurors the still frame of Neely’s onlooker.
“Was the defendant justified in using deadly physical force on Mr. Neely? Absolutely not,” she added.
Penny, of Long Island, sat at the defense table in a brown suit and maroon tie during closing statements. He looked straight ahead, in the direction of the judge, without making eye contact with the jurors.
His attorney argued Monday morning that Penny “stepped up to protect” his fellow train riders because acting to save others was something he learned while serving in the U.S. Marines.
“He had something that others didn’t have, something that was unique to him. His training,’ Razor told the jury. “Danny worked to save those people.”
Yoran countered that Penny should have known from her Marine training that there were other ways to restrain Neely besides placing her in a lethal chokehold.
“Jordan Neely could have easily been stopped without strangling her to death,” Penny told jurors.
Penny’s attorney, earlier in the day, attempted to cast doubt on the city medical examiner’s conclusion that Neely’s cause of death was strangulation.
The lawyer also tried to highlight Penny’s “softer side”, noting that he is an avid surfer and was studying architecture at the time of the confrontation.
“Danny is not just a former Marine,” Raiser told jurors.
Razor also used the term “civil restraint” instead of chokehold to describe Penny’s actions.
“He holds her until the police arrive. “Never make him unconscious or try to hurt him,” the lawyer said.
Penny is greeted with “Guilty!” It was done with the slogan of. Were going to Manhattan Supreme Court on Monday morning.
A group of a dozen protesters chanted, “Guilty! Criminal! Criminal!” He exited a black SUV outside the courthouse at 100 Center St.
“What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!” the protesters chanted.
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