Daniel Penny jurors tell judge they can't agree on top charge in subway chokehold case
SUMMARY
Jurors in the Daniel Penny subway chokehold trial informed the court they could not agree on the top charge of second-degree manslaughter after four days of deliberations. Penny, a 26-year-old Marine veteran and student, is accused of killing Jordan Neely, a homeless man with schizophrenia, during a psychotic episode on a Manhattan subway. Neely, reportedly high on drugs, had threatened passengers before Penny restrained him in a chokehold. The manslaughter charge requires proof of recklessness. If unresolved, jurors will deliberate a lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide. Judge Maxwell Wiley urged the jury to reconsider, issuing "Allen charge" instructions, which aim to encourage consensus but are controversial for potential coercion. Penny's defense sought a mistrial, while critics argue the case reflects ideological prosecution. Witnesses described Neely’s behavior as threatening amid a climate of subway violence.
