Jury in Daniel Penny subway death trial to deliberate on lesser charge today after deadlock on manslaughter

The jury in Daniel Penny’s trial in the NYC subway death of Jordan Neely is set to return to court Monday to deliberate on a lesser charge after the group could not reach a unanimous verdict on a manslaughter charge.

The jury in Daniel Penny’s trial in the New York City subway death of Jordan Neely is set to return to court Monday to deliberate on a lesser charge after the group could not reach a unanimous verdict on a manslaughter charge. Penny, a 26-year-old former Marine, now faces just one charge of criminally negligent homicide in Neely’s death last year. If convicted, he faces up to four years in prison, though there is no minimum sentence. He had also been charged with second-degree manslaughter, which came with a potential 15-year prison sentence. But Friday, the 12-person jury twice told the court it could not come to a verdict on the count. Judge Maxwell Wiley agreed with Manhattan prosecutors to dismiss the manslaughter count and pave the way for the jury to consider the remaining charge. The judge rejected the defense’s request for a mistrial on both counts. “What that means is you are now free to consider Count 2,” the judge told the jury. “Whether that makes any difference or not, I have no idea.” The case stems from the death of Neely, a 30-year-old street artist who struggled with homelessness, mental illness and drugs, on a subway car on May 1, 2023.