The Marine veteran, Daniel Penny, who was accused of killing a Michael Jackson impersonator, Jordan Neely, on a New York subway, last year, was found not guilty by the jury on the negligent homicide charge at Manhattan criminal court on Monday. 

At around 11:30 am on Monday, the jury said they’d reached a unanimous verdict on count two of the indictment – involuntary manslaughter.  When the jury forewoman read the verdict, the courtroom was suddenly filled with applause from Mr. Penny’s supporters.

Jordan Neely’s father, Andre Zachary, who was estranged from his son at the time of his death and is now suing Mr. Penny, then yelled out a cry of protest — his exact words could not be discerned by the Sun — and was led out of the courtroom by court officers. Also led out of the courtroom due to their loud protestations were the brother and sister Black Lives Matter duo, Hawk and Chivona Newsome. As she was removed from the courtroom, Ms. Newsome cried out, “racist f— country.”

Just prior to the jury reading the verdict, the presiding judge in the case, Maxwell Wiley, said that “Whatever the verdict is, I thought the lawyering on each side was excellent.”

Last year, the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, charged Mr. Penny with second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the death of Neely. Mr. Penny, a 26-year-old man from West Islip on Long Island, served in the Marine Corps for four years as an infantry squad leader and was honorably discharged in 2021, according to his LinkedIn. At the time of the tragic incident, Mr. Penny was living in the East Village, at Lower Manhattan, and studying architecture and engineering at City Tech in Brooklyn. 

On May 1, 2023, Mr. Penny was on a northbound F Train, headed for his gym, as he later told police officers, when at the Second Avenue stop, Neely got on the train car. He almost missed the train but, according to witnesses, put his hand through the closing door and managed to get on. Neely, who was 30 years old and homeless at the time, was a street performer known for his Michael Jackson impersonations on subways, and could be seen moonwalking at Times Square. He also had a history of drug abuse, severe mental illness, and arrests. Both men, Mr. Penny and Neely were exactly the same height, (6 feet, one inch).         

As Neely entered the car, one witnesses testified, the car was filled with the overwhelming stench of human feces. Neely aggressively tossed his jacket to the ground and then began shouting at subway riders, witnesses testified, yelling that he was hungry, thirsty, ready to die, and ready to go to jail. Witnesses described Neely’s behavior as erratic, menacing, and extremely frightening. One woman said it was “Satanic,” another woman said she was scared for her life, and a mother from Brooklyn hid her 5-year-old son behind her stroller. 

All the witnesses agreed, however, that Neely did not physically attack anyone. He also turned out not to have been carrying a weapon.

Mr. Penny, who would later tell detectives that he perceived Neely to be a severe threat, grabbed him from behind, placed him in a chokehold, and brought him to the floor in an attempt, he would say, to protect himself and the other passengers. After the train pulled into the next station, and the doors had opened, Mr. Penny lay on the subway car’s floor in a bizarre embrace with Neely, who was struggling to break free from the chokehold. In the end, Neely was held in the chokehold for about six minutes. Just when Neely lost consciousness and became unresponsive was in dispute throughout the trial. Chokeholds are meant to render someone unconscious, not kill them. 

Prosecutors alleged that Mr. Penny held the chokehold for too long and used excessive force. He acted recklessly, they argued, because having been trained in chokeholds during his service in the Marines Corps, he should have known that chokeholds can be fatal. The defense disagreed, arguing that Mr. Penny did not apply continuous pressure onto Neely’s neck the entire time, and did not intend to kill him, but was trying to restrain him until the police arrived. When first responders got to the scene, Neely was unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the hospital an hour later.    

Mr. Penny was questioned and released without charges. Yet several days later, after racial justice advocates had led widespread protests, including blocking subway tracks, calling for justice for Neely and punishment for Mr. Penny, Mr. Bragg filed charges against Mr. Penny in the racially fraught case. Mr. Penny is white while Neely was Black.

The trial, which has lasted seven weeks, including jury selection, heard from more than 40 witnesses, including eyewitnesses, subway riders, police officers, medical personnel, and experts.