Daniel Penny, the white ex-Marine charged with choking homeless Black subway performer Jordan Neely to death on an F train last year, is set to go on trial this week.
Penny, who is criminally charged with manslaughter in the May 2023 death of Neely, will appear in Manhattan Criminal Court on Monday for the start of jury selection in the trial, with the Long Island native’s fate up to 12 jurors in a case that has sparked intense debate on racial profiling, vigilante justice, and the city’s treatment of the homeless and mentally ill.
Penny was caught on video restraining Neely on the floor of an F train in Manhattan on May 1, 2023, holding Neely by the neck — with assistance from two other passengers — for several minutes until and even after he stopped moving.
What happened before the footage started rolling is a matter of intense debate. Witnesses have said Neely was screaming and acting erratically towards other passengers on the train, and Penny has argued he took action to protect himself and other riders. But there is no indication Neely had physically threatened anyone prior to Penny’s intervention.
Penny was questioned by police and released without charges the night of the incident; his lawyers lost motions earlier this month to have Penny’s statements to the NYPD and police bodycam footage excluded from the trial.
Penny would not face charges for nearly two weeks, sparking days of major protests throughout the city. Protesters plan to demonstrate outside the Manhattan criminal courthouse for the duration of the trial; jury selection begins on Monday.
The defendant has pled not guilty and is free on $100,000 bond. He faces up to 19 years in prison if convicted on both counts of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.
Penny and his lawyers insist the ex-Marine was acting in self-defense and did not intend to kill Neely. But prosecutors need not prove intent, only that Penny’s actions were reckless and caused Neely’s death.
Penny has insisted he is not a racist, citing a trip to Africa he was planning on taking before the incident. The incident is reminiscent of another subway vigilante case from 40 years prior, that of Bernie Goetz, who shot four Black youth he claimed were trying to rob him on the subway; that case also became a racial flashpoint in the Big Apple.
Much like the Kyle Rittenhouse case, in which a white teenager shot multiple protesters, Penny has become a cause celebre for right-wing politicians and pundits. His legal defense fund has raised millions of dollars from conservatives around the country, far more than the Neely family could raise to pay for his funeral.
Civil rights leaders, such as the Rev. Al Sharpton, have raised the question of whether the response to the crime would be different had the races of Penny and Neely been reversed.
