Marine veteran Daniel Penny will stand trial for manslaughter on Oct. 8 for the chokehold death of a homeless man on a New York subway, a judge determined on Wednesday.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Maxwell Wiley set the trial date during a brief status hearing in criminal court. Mr. Penny, 25, appeared in court along with his attorneys.
The high-profile case triggered protests and garnered national attention after videos of the May 2023 incident spread online. Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old street performer, entered the northbound F train at the 2nd Ave. station and began making verbal threats to passengers, according to court documents.
After repeated threats, Mr. Penny restrained him in order to protect other passengers from his erratic behavior.
The medical examiner’s office later determined the manner of Mr. Neely’s death to be homicide and stated that he died from compression of the neck.
Shortly after, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced an indictment that alleged Mr. Penny recklessly caused his death. He was charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
“Daniel Penny stands indicted for Manslaughter after allegedly putting Jordan Neely in a deadly chokehold for several minutes until and after he stopped moving. I hope Mr. Neely’s loved ones are on the path towards healing as they continue to mourn this tragic loss,” the district attorney said in a statement.
Defense attorneys, however, argue Mr. Penny never intended to harm him and sacrificed his own safety for others.
Attorneys Thoman Keniff and Steve Raiser also allege Mr. Neely has a documented history of violent and erratic behavior and had been arrested 42 times on charges including unprovoked assault and disorderly conduct.
The case caught the attention of activists nationwide and prompted widespread demonstrations. Protestors pushed for “Justice for Jordan” and referred to his death as a “lynching.”
Mr. Penny himself spoke out about accusations of racism and said in a video statement just one month after the incident, “I did not see a black man threatening passengers. I saw a man threatening passengers.”
He also argued he did not try to choke him to death.
“I was trying to restrain him. You can see in the video there’s a clear rise and fall of his chest, indicating that he is breathing. I was restraining him from carrying out the threats,” he said in the June 2023 video statement.
Mr. Neely made threats such as “I’m gonna kill you” and appeared to be on drugs, according to Mr. Penny.
Defense attorneys said in a previous statement that for too long, those suffering from mental illness have been treated with indifference.
“We hope that out of this awful tragedy will come a new commitment by our elected officials to address the mental health crisis on our streets and subways,” the statement said.
Mr. Neely’s family accused Mr. Penny’s attorneys of character assassination.
“He knew nothing about Jordan’s history when he intentionally wrapped his arms around Jordan’s neck, and squeezed, and kept squeezing,” the family statement said.
Mr. Penny remains free on $100,000 bail. His next court date has been set for Sept. 17. His trial is expected to last four to six weeks, according to the judge. He faces up to 19 years behind bars if convicted.
