OAN Staff Sophia Flores
Friday, December 6, 2024
1:17 PM – After the 12-person jury could not come to a unanimous decision regarding Daniel Penny’s case, the judge overseeing the trial agreed to drop the manslaughter charge.
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After the jurors announced that they could not come to a unanimous consensus on Friday, Judge Maxwell Wiley warned that a new trial with a different jury might need to be scheduled.
Immediately after Judge Wiley’s statement, prosecutors asked Judge Wiley to dismiss the manslaughter charge against Penny so that the jury can go forward and deliberate the second charge against the former Marine of negligent homicide.
Judge Wiley agreed to the prosecutions request and dropped the manslaughter charge.
“I’ll take a chance and grant the people’s application,” Judge Wiley said
“Normally the distinction between the two counts is very clear,” he continued. “The justification adds another element to it which is at play here.”
Penny’s lawyers opposed the motion and are asking for a mistrial.
“This has never been done before. It would encourage prosecutors to over-charge in the grand jury, with the option of withdrawing if hung, under coercion,” Penny’s lawyers said.
The judge told the jury that they will deliberate on a lesser charge on Monday.
If convicted of negligent homicide, Penny could receive up to four years behind bars.
8:42 AM – A 12-person jury is unable to reach a unanimous decision on Daniel Penny’s manslaughter charge.
On Friday, the jury sent a note stating that it is having a hard time reaching a unanimous consensus on whether or not to convict Penny of “recklessly” killing Jordan Neely after placing him in a six-minute chokehold on a subway in May 2023.
Lawyers defending Penny said that the 26-year-old Marine Veteran was protecting his fellow subway riders from Neely who yelled “someone’s going to die today!” when he boarded the uptown F train.
They also say that there’s no proof beyond reasonable doubt that the chokehold is what caused Neely’s death.
On the other side, Manhattan prosecutors stated that Neely never threatened anyone in particular and that he didn’t have any weapons on him, just a muffin in his pocket.
The hung jury first started deliberating on early Tuesday afternoon.
If they are unable to reach a verdict, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Maxwell Wiley will be required to give them an “Allen” charge. An Allen charge urges jurors to re-examine their positions in order for them to work towards finding a unanimous consensus.
Penny faces up to 15 years behind bars if he is convicted on the manslaughter charge. If he is convicted on a less serious count, he faces up to four years in prison.
This is a breaking story. Check back for updates.
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