Defense attorneys rested their case on Friday in the manslaughter trial of Marine veteran Daniel Penny and declined to call their client to the stand, the New York Post reported.
"This jury has heard from Mr. Penny. They heard from him before he had the opportunity to have an attorney. They heard him in the minutes and hours after this incident," his lawyer, Thomas Kenniff, told reporters after court wrapped Friday.
Penny, 26, is facing manslaughter charges in the May 1, 2023, death of Jordan Neely, 30, a homeless man known for his Michael Jackson impressions. Prosecutors allege that Neely was acting erratic but nonviolent when Penny pulled him to the ground and placed him in chokehold.
Neely died several minutes later. Lawyers for Penny argued that their client was courageous in defending other subway passengers against a "seething, psychotic" man who was frightening them.
Jurors were shown video of New York City Police detectives questioning Perry immediately after the struggle, in which he said he felt compelled to act because Neely was "acting crazy" and threating other passengers.
"He told them what happened, and he said all the same things, all the things in essence that the credible eyewitnesses testified — that Jordan Neely was terrifying," Kenniff said, according to the Post.
"He believed like so many eyewitnesses that he was going to make good. He thought someone was going to get hurt. He thought someone was going to get killed. And he acted. I don't know how much the jury has to hear in that regard."
Dr. Satish Chundru, a medical expert called by the defense, testified that he believed Neely's death was a combination of elements and not the chokehold. Chundru's testimony was intensely cross-examined by Assistant District Attorney Dafna Yoran, who tried to push him to dial back his claim that Neely died from the "combined effects" of synthetic marijuana, schizophrenia, and other factors.
"Yes, the restraint played a role. But that's a far different cry from saying he died from asphyxia from a chokehold," Chundru said.
Penny told the Post in May 2023 that he felt no shame for his actions, which he described as having "nothing to do with race." Neely was Black. Penny is white.
"I'm deeply saddened by the loss of life," he said at the time.
"It's tragic what happened to him. Hopefully, we can change the system that's so desperately failed us."
Closing statements are expected to begin on Dec. 2.
Penny has pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted on the top charge.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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