Jordan Neely’s death in a crowded Manhattan subway car made worldwide headlines in May 2023, after bystander footage showed former Marine Daniel Penny restraining the erratic homeless man in a fatal chokehold. The case is finally set to go to trial, with jury selection beginning Monday.
Penny, who has argued that he acted to protect fellow passengers from a menacing Neely, faces charges of second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. Neely, a homeless Michael Jackson impersonator with a history of mental illness, died after Penny placed him in a chokehold for several minutes. According to prosecutors – who don’t have to prove intent to kill, Penny acted recklessly in causing Neely’s death.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office has argued that Penny knew during the encounter that he might kill Neely, even if that was not his intention.
They’ve cited testimony from a Marine trainer, who told the grand jury that Marines are taught that chokeholds — which are meant to be a “non-lethal” restraint — can sometimes be fatal.
Prosecutors will also bring up evidence that Penny kept Neely in his chokehold for six minutes, continuing to restrain him even after the homeless man was no longer making purposeful movements.
“The notion that death is not a foreseeable consequence of squeezing someone’s neck for six minutes is beyond the pale,” the DA’s office wrote in a November 2023 court filing. –NY Post
Penny, a former infantry squad leader, has maintained that he did not intend to kill Neely, however Bragg’s office only has to convince a jury that Penny “recklessly” caused the death or disregarded a “substantial and unjustifiable risk of death” when he kept Neely in a chokehold for several minutes. […]
— Read More: www.zerohedge.com
