The Daniel Penny trial continued Tuesday with family members of Jordan Neely — the subway performer whom Penny killed in an April 2023 chokehold incident — blasting the former marine’s defense team for employing a legal consultant used by Kyle Rittenhouse.
According to the New York Times, Jo-Ellan Dimitrius has been inside 100 Centre St. every day since the Penny manslaughter trial got underway on Oct. 21 serving as jury consultant for the defendant. Dimitrius has sat in on a slew of high-profile, racially-charged cases that has seen her clients walk free, including Rittenhouse, who was found not guilty of fatally shooting two Black Lives Matter protesters in Kenosha, WI during the summer of 2020. The news left protesters gathered at the courthouse Tuesday seething.
“He is using a legal team and an expert that specializes in defending white supremacists,” said Hawk Newsome, co-founder of Black Lives Matter Greater New York. “I think everybody in New York City should pay special and close attention to this case, because it sends a message. It sends a message to everyone across the world that if black people are too loud, if black people scare you, then you can kill them.”
One of Penny’s attorney’s, Steven Raiser, pushed back against the condemnation, stating that Dimitrius was merely chosen because she is one of the best consultants in the field and the decision was not based on the race or ethnicity of her clients.
“It doesn’t really make a lot of sense to argue that there are some racial implications that they’re pointing to in a prior case. What about the OJ Simpson case? You know, the Casey Anthony case? I mean, there’s dozens and dozens of cases that she’s worked on,” Raiser told amNewYork Metro during a phone interview.
“She happens to be the most experienced, nationally known jury consultant, and utilizing that resource to help us get a fair trial, considering the weight of the district attorney’s office that they have behind them,” Raiser added.
Penny is accused of taking subway busker Jordan 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 strangers, prompting Penny to step in and act in self-defense.
Penny entered the court on Tuesday alongside Dimitrius as protesters called out “We are here for you, Dimitrius!” Family of Neely say they believe the hiring of the consultant sends the wrong message in a case that centers around a white man choking a homeless black man to death.
Neely’s family, however, disagrees with the defense’s explanation about Dimitrius’ expertise being necessary to their defense.
“I’m not gonna sit here and play dumb, deaf, and blind and act like I don’t know the reason why they hired this person to come and represent Daniel Penny,” Neely’s uncle, Christian Neely said. “All I can say is that I believe in the prosecution. I believe in New York City.”
The case has proven divisive in New York. According to a report from the New York Post, two out of the six jury members selected say they have experienced harassment while riding the subway, something a point of view the defense will want to zero-in on.
“Two Jury members are biased against people that ride the train. So they already got people that’s on a jury, that’s already biased, and this is for a black man that got murdered,” activist Terrell Harper said.
During his phone interview Tuesday, Raiser also told amNewYork Metro that he feels the media attention has made the case more difficult and has drawn protesters who he does not feel understand the full scope of the proceedings.
“The media attention has created some false ideas as to what this case is about. And I think actually the protesters have kind of fed on some of that information,” Raiser said. “On the positive side is that they’ve gotten the message out that this individual was acting to protect his fellow riders.”
