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Shop NowThe charges Daniel Penny faced trial for in court were unrealistically harsh to start with. The jury couldn’t come to a unanimous decision on calling what happened “second-degree manslaughter.” They’ll be back in the jury room on Monday, to decide if they should convict him of criminally negligent homicide or simply let him loose.
Charges deadlock jury
Charges for second-degree manslaughter have been dismissed against subway vigilante Daniel Penny in the chokehold death of Jordan Neely.
On Friday, December 6, the Manhattan judge granted a motion by prosecutors to drop it down to the less serious charge. Defendants were hoping for a mistrial but didn’t get off that easy.
After hearing all the evidence and arguments from both sides during the trial, the jury was deadlocked on the stiffer charges. That indicates that several, perhaps a majority, of the jurors believed he did nothing wrong.
Certainly, the crime wasn’t intentional or malicious. The judge’s ruling “clears the way for the jury to consider a remaining lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide.”
The jury could agree that Penny committed a crime even though he didn’t intend to murder Neely. Nobody is commenting on the fact that Penny wouldn’t be facing any charges if the New York City police made an attempt at ensuring safety on the subways.
His defense team argued that the double deadlock should be granted a mistrial but Judge Maxwell Wiley “agreed with prosecutors, who argued that dismissing the first count of second-degree manslaughter eliminates the defense’s concern about a compromise verdict.”
Max sentence four years
Even with reduced charges, the 26-year-old former Marine still faces the possibility of time in jail. That’s an insult because New York City routinely turns hardened violent criminals loose on the street.
Prosecutors want to make an example of those who do the job of the police for them. Penny’s remaining single charge of “criminally negligent homicide” carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison.
To start with, that’s a whole lot better than the 15 years he was fighting under the more serious charges. It’s also likely that the judge could waive prison time entirely based on the circumstances of the underlying case.
Witnesses testified repeatedly that they feared for their own safety when Neely started rampaging and praise Penny for stepping in to intervene.
After dismissing the worst of the charges, Judge Wiley “sent the jury home earlier than usual.” He gave them the weekend to “think about something else.” That way, when they come back Monday, they should be able to take a fresh look at their disagreements. “It’s not time for a mistrial,” Wiley told the attorneys outside the presence of the jury.
Defense lawyers are still steamed about the decision. By doing it this way, the judge is encouraging prosecutors to file heavier charges than they can really support, then bargain it down after the jury is already in deliberation. That’s generally considered unfair and opens the door to an appeal.
