Daniel Penny found not guilty in death of Jordan Neely

December 9, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

Defendant Daniel Penny exits the courtroom, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in New York. Photo: Heather Khalifa/AP

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MANHATTAN – A MANHATTAN JURY on Monday found Daniel Penny not guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the death of Jordan Neely, reports the Daily News. The jury on Friday had reported itself to be deadlocked on a separate charge of second-degree manslaughter, which was dropped following a motion to dismiss from the prosecution. The case had become a source of deep controversy in the city since Neely’s death on an F train in May 2023, with supporters of Penny, an ex-Marine, saying that he had acted in defense of train passengers, and opponents arguing that he had gone too far by choking Neely, a mentally unwell man, for several minutes; several observers saw a racial justice dimension to the situation as well.

In a statement issued shortly after news of the verdict was released, southern Brooklyn Councilmember Inna Vernikov said, “It’s a great day for our city and our nation. Justice has truly been served and we all feel the tide turning now. Today the jury decided that the woke mob is no longer the arbiter of right and wrong.”

Democrat Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest, in contrast, criticized the verdict, writing in a statement, “We cannot let this decision silence our demand for justice. It must live in our streets, in our policies, and in our collective commitment to building a New York where people in crisis are treated with compassion, not violence.”

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