Daniel Penny, a former Marine who choked a fellow subway rider in New York City last year, was acquitted on a charge of criminally negligent homicide on Monday, the New York Times reports. The jurors decided that Penny’s actions were not criminal when he held the rider, Jordan Neely, in a chokehold as the two men struggled on the floor of a subway car on May 1, 2023. Neely, who was homeless and had a history of mental illness, had strode through the subway car that afternoon, yelling at passengers and frightening them, according to witnesses. After the forewoman announced the verdict, the courtroom erupted, with some people cheering the outcome and others responding with anger.
The case had come to exemplify New York City’s post-pandemic struggles. Some who saw the four minutes of footage said Penny’s actions reflected transit riders’ fears and frustrations, and pointed to concerns about crime in the city. A number of Republican politicians hailed Penny. For others, the killing showed the city’s inability or unwillingness to help its most vulnerable and marginalized residents. And Penny, they said, deserved to be punished. The decision was a defeat for the office of Alvin L. Bragg, Manhattan’s district attorney. In a statement on Monday, Bragg said that the jury “has now spoken.” He also noted that prosecutors and their families had been “besieged with hate and threats — on social media, by phone and over email” throughout the trial. Mayor Eric Adams, at a news conference on Monday, said that Mr. Neely “should not have had to die” and described the city’s mental health system as “broken.”
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