Jury selection begins on Monday lightning-rod test Daniel Penny, former Marine, charged with strangulation to death of homeless subway busker Jordan Neely Crowded Manhattan train car,
Groups of New Yorkers will face a series of questions – and be interrogated about their own experiences riding the city’s subway – before 12 Manhattanites are ultimately assigned to decide the fate of 25-year-old Penny. Be selected, who has been charged with murder and manslaughter by criminal negligence. On-camera murder.
The May 1, 2023 tragedy sparked an uproar over whether Penny’s actions were justified when she confronted the unarmed homeless man — as some witnesses say He was abusing in an “extremely threatening” manner – As the northbound F train approached the Broadway-Lafayette platform just after 2 p.m.
Penny was shot by police the night of Neely’s death, but he was arrested two weeks later after cellphone video of the fatal chokehold It surfaced online and sparked outrage.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office has accused Penny of causing Neely’s death by “recklessly” strangling her for more than six minutes – well past the point where Neely had ceased “purposeful movements.” .
Prosecutors say the chokehold continued after the subway car doors opened, causing frightened passengers to flee the scene, and then two more men began restraining Neely as well.
Penny’s lawyers have Argued that he was being “harassed” Because what they say was that he was protecting his fellow straphangers from Crazy Neely, who at some point yelled, “Somebody’s going to die today!”
But Neely was unarmed at the time – he had just a muffin in his pocket, as video of the scene shows – and other witnesses reported that they did not think Neely actually planned to hurt anyone.
“For me, it was just another day in New York in general,” one onlooker told the grand jury.
Penny has pleaded not guilty to the two charges against him, which carry a maximum sentence of 19 years in prison if found guilty.
The hearing, which is expected to last six weeks, is also expected to include witnesses The detectives who interrogated Penny on the night of Neely’s deathAnd the spectators who were in the metro at that time.
It is not yet clear whether Penny, who is out on $100,000 bail, will testify in his own defense.
Penny’s lead attorney, Thomas Kenniff, ran as a Republican in the November 2021 election against Manhattan DA Bragg. Bragg, a Democrat, won with 83 percent of the vote.
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