Daniel Penny Greeted By Protesters As Jury Selection Continues: ‘Murderer!’

Protesters called Daniel Penny a “murderer” as jury selection continues in the high-profile New York City chokehold case.
Penny, a 25-year-old former Marine, is accused of killing 30-year-old Jordan Neely on a subway in 2023. Neely, who was a well-known Michael Jackson impersonator, boarded the subway and reportedly began yelling and threatening people. Penny allegedly approached him from behind and placed him in the restraint.
Neely was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His death was ruled a homicide by compression of the neck. Penny is facing second-degree manslaughter and negligent homicide charges.
Jury selection entered its second day on Tuesday.
Protesters gathered outside of the courtroom holding signs reading “Rest in Power Jordan Neely.”
A pool of 86 jurors was brought into the courtroom on Monday. Most jurors raised their hand when asked if they had heard about the case.
“Even if you have formed an opinion about it, that does not disqualify you from serving on this case,” New York Supreme Court Justice Maxwell Wiley told jurors. “If you have formed an opinion on this case, you have to be prepared to change it.”
Wiley also asked jurors if they were able to serve in a trial expected to last up to six weeks. By midday, 58 jurors had been excused.
The remaining 28 were told to return on Friday for juror questioning.
A new pool of jurors was brought in during the afternoon. In that group, 17 were told to return Friday and 35 were excused.
Earlier this month, Wiley ruled denied motions from both prosecutors and defense to suppress evidence during the trial.
Prosecutors objected to the defense’s request to enter Neely’s medical records and allow certain witnesses to testify. The defense objected to prosecutors presenting statements made by Penny after the deadly incident to police at the subway station and the precinct from the trial.
Wiley denied motions from both sides, clearing the way for all evidence to be presented during the trial.
Use of force experts previously spoke to Newsweek about how prosecutors and defense could present their arguments.
Dr. John R. Black, a retired police lieutenant and expert witness in cases involving high-stress decision making and lethal force, said prosecutors will likely focus on the severity of the threat Neely posed and the intensity of Penny’s response.
“The prosecutor’s argument is primarily an argument of, we’ll call it, disproportionate response. This person did not represent the level of threat by which the technique that the other person chose was applied, so there’s a mismatch,” Black said.
Jamie Borden, a police veteran and expert witness in cases involving use of force, said the prosecution will likely emphasize the appearance of the incident.
“The prosecution is more than likely building their case on a passionate belief that something was done wrong,” Borden said. “That doesn’t mean that it wasn’t done wrong, but I’m saying that they’ll present their case from a point of passionate belief about the appearance of the incident.”
The defense will likely challenge that point, according to Black.
“The other argument is we have the right to use a proportional level of force, and actually the law would say a reasonably necessary level of force to protect ourselves or to protect another,” Black said.
Penny is facing five to 15 years in prison for the manslaughter charge and up to four years for the negligent homicide charge.
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