Daniel Penny, accused of killing homeless subway performer Jordan Neely in an incident videoed back in May 2023, arrived at Manhattan Criminal Court for a pre-trial hearing Thursday two weeks ahead of the start of the case.
Penny is accused of taking Neely’s life during an incident on board a Lower Manhattan F train in May 2023. Neely’s death sparked mass protests in May after his death was caught on camera, and the footage quickly went viral on social media. Penny’s defense team alleges that Neely — who was known to dress as Michael Jackson and busk in the transit system — was threatening straphangers, prompting Penny to step in and act in self-defense.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg later brought up Penny via grand jury indictments on second-degree manslaughter and negligent charges. While Penny claims he did not set out to kill Neely, the prosecution merely needs to prove that he was criminally negligent in a widely publicized trial set to start on Oct. 23 of this year.
Thursday’s discovery hearing, which determined what evidence will be presented at Penny’s trial, lasted most of the day. Several cops were quizzed, and the court examined body camera footage from the arrival of cops and the aftermath, including the station house interrogation, was shown.
“I put him out,” Penny was recorded saying in one of the videos exhibited, which also depicted Neely lying unconscious on the train floor. In another video, the former Marine told detectives that Neely was intimidating riders by yelling and throwing objects. Penny approached him from behind and put him in a chokehold that, in the video interrogation, told law enforcement that lasted for at least one stop.
“He was squirming,” Penny said in the video. “He was trying to roll up. I had him pretty good.”
Penny’s defense team, led by attorneys Steven Raiser and Thomas Kenniff, argued that the Long Island native acted in self-defense. They also argued that Neely’s alleged mental health issues and reported drug use should be taken into consideration, something prosecutors say is irrelevant to the case.
The viral video of a white man choking a black man reverberated through the public consciousness and sparked a series of violent protests that saw mass arrests and even, at one point, saw demonstrators stand on train tracks and block trains from moving.
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