Daniel Penny pleaded not guilty to manslaughter charges on Wednesday in connection with the high-profile chokehold death of Jordan Neely.
The 24-year-old former Marine was arraigned on charges of second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide after he was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury earlier this month.
If convicted on both counts, Penny could face a sentence of up to 19 years in prison. At the arraignment, Penny only said the words “not guilty” while a crowd of people watched, according to the New York Post. Neely’s father, Andre Zachery, attended. Penny is due to return to court on October 25.
In early May, Penny held Neely in a chokehold on the F train in Manhattan. Before he was placed in the chokehold, the homeless man, who had a history of mental illness, was throwing garbage and yelling that he wanted to die or go to jail because he was tired of having no food. First responders arrived at the scene, after Neely’s body allegedly stopped moving in Penny’s arms, and attempted resuscitative efforts on him at the subway station. He was eventually transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Penny was arrested by authorities but was later released on $100,000 bail. In a video released by his attorneys, Penny said that he “just couldn’t sit still” as Neely threatened to kill people on the train. He insisted he restrained Neely to stop him from “being able to carry out the threats.” Penny clarified that he did not intend to “choke him to death” and dismissed reports that he held Neely in a chokehold for 15 minutes. Neely, he said, was shouting in “terrified” passengers’ faces.
“There’s a common misconception that Marines don’t get scared. We’re actually taught one of our core values is courage, and courage is not the absence of fear but how you handle fear,” he said. “I was scared for myself, but I looked around there was women and children, he was yelling in their faces saying these threats. I just couldn’t sit still.”
Outside the courthouse Wednesday morning, Thomas Kenniff, one of Penny’s lawyers, told the Post that the evidence demonstrates that “our client acted reasonably under the circumstances and he was justified in the actions he took however unfortunate the consequences.”
Penny’s other lawyer Steven Raiser told the Post that his legal team believe there will be a fair trial because subway crime is an issue that resonates with many local residents.
“They understand what it’s like to be on a subway, what it’s like to be confined underground, what it’s like to not be able to leave when faced with a threat,” Raiser said. “So it is a very positive thing that we’re able to go to the people here in Manhattan and ask them to render a verdict on this case because they understand what it’s like to be in the situation that Daniel was in at least to the physical confinement.”
Neely’s family has demanded Penny’s charges be more severe, arguing that the action he took on the train was unjustified. Neely had a previous criminal record including an arrest in August 2015 for attempted kidnapping “after he was seen dragging a 7-year-old girl down an Inwood street,” the New York Daily News reported. He pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child and was sentenced to four months in jail. He was later arrested again in June 2019 for punching a 64-year-old man in the face during a fight in a Greenwich Village subway station, the report adds.
On Wednesday outside the courthouse, Neely family lawyer Donte Mills railed against Penny for not having “the courage to look Mr. Jordan’s father Andre in the eye,” the Post noted.
As of Wednesday morning, fundraising for Penny’s legal defense hit nearly $3 million. Mills, however, rebuked that the legal defense fund can’t prevent Penny from being prosecuted.
“It’s not going to happen,” Mills said. “It didn’t work. You can ask for a refund. We are here.”
Progressive Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who has been heavily criticized for his lax law enforcement policies that critics claim has fueled the city’s crime wave, issued a statement sympathetic to Neely after the arraignment.
“Daniel Penny stands indicted for Manslaughter after allegedly putting Jordan Neely in a deadly chokehold for several minutes until and after he stopped moving,” he wrote. “I hope Mr. Neely’s loved ones are on the path towards healing as they continue to mourn this tragic loss.”