Self-defense or too much violence? Jurors decide subway chokehold case

A defense attorney asked jurors Monday to put themselves in the shoes of frightened subway riders as a Marine veteran was charged with strangling an angry homeless man after an outburst on a New York City subway.

Prosecutors countered that Daniel Penny responded far too forcefully and recklessly to Jordan Neely.

Both sides delivered closing arguments Monday in Penny’s involuntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter trial. Penny, who held Neely by the neck for about six minutes, claims he was defending fellow passengers. He has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors say Penny was justified in using physical force after Neely shouted on a crowded train that she was ready to die, go to prison or, as Penny and some other passengers recalled, ready to kill. But prosecutors argue that Penny went far too far in dealing with an unarmed man.

“You obviously can’t kill someone because they’re crazy and swearing and look threatening no matter what they say,” Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Dafna Yoran told jurors Monday.

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Defense attorney Steven Raiser asked jurors to imagine they were on that train when Neely got on, “full of anger and unafraid of any consequences.”

“You are sitting as you are now, in a very small space. “You have very little room to move and no room to walk,” Raiser told jurors, saying his client “put his life at risk” for strangers.

“Who do you want on the next train?” he asked.

Penny’s response to Neely touched nerves and sparked a debate about race relations, public safety, urban life and different approaches to crime, homelessness and mental illness.

Some in New York and across the country see Penny, a 26-year-old Marine veteran and current architecture student, as a brave protector of her fellow subway workers who feared that the unpredictable Neely was on the verge of violence. Others view Penny as a white vigilante who quickly killed a black man who needed help.

The case sparked demonstrations at which Penny was sharply criticized and rallies at which he was praised. In defense arguments Monday, Raiser tried to undermine the credibility of some prosecution witnesses by saying they would testify “in the shadows of protesters” who gathered outside the courthouse to demand justice for Neely.

Neely, 30, was once one of the city’s subway and street artists and was known for his Michael Jackson impersonations. But after his mother was violently killed as a teenager, Neely was diagnosed with depression and schizophrenia, was repeatedly hospitalized, struggled with substance abuse and had a criminal record that included assault convictions.

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During the month-long trial, the anonymous jury heard testimony from subway passengers who witnessed Penny’s roughly six-minute arrest of Neely, as well as from police officers who responded, pathologists, a psychiatric expert and a Marine Corps instructor who helped Penny Chokehold techniques and pennies taught relatives, friends and fellow Marines. Penny chose not to testify.

Jurors viewed videos captured by bystanders and police body cameras and saw Penny explain his actions to officers at the scene and later in the police department interview room.

“I just wanted to stop him from getting to people,” he told investigators, demonstrating the chokehold and describing Neely as “a weirdo” who “acted like a crazy person.”

“I’m not trying to kill the guy,” he insisted.

Several witnesses said Neely yelled that he needed something to eat and drink, threw his jacket to the ground and started screaming. They differed in describing his movements and whether they were threatening. Several passengers said they were alarmed and some were grateful when Penny subdued Neely.

The city’s medical examiner concluded that Neely was killed by the chokehold. A pathologist hired by Penny’s defense disputed that finding, saying Neely was killed by a number of other factors.

Prosecutors noted that the veteran continued to clutch Neely’s neck after the train stopped and anyone who wanted to get off could do so, after bystanders urged Penny to let go, and even after Neely lay still for nearly a minute.

Penny said he wanted to protect people, “but he just didn’t realize that Jordan Neely was also a human being whose life needed to be preserved,” Yoran said. She encouraged the jury to “make it clear with your verdict that no human being’s life can be extinguished so unjustly.”

The defense says Penny held out because Neely was trying to break free at points and the pressure on the man’s neck wasn’t consistent enough to kill him.

Penny only wanted to restrain Neely for the police, so she used a “simple civilian restraint” instead of a “textbook chokehold” meant to render someone unconscious, Raiser told jurors.

“The police were not there when the people on that train needed help. “It was Danny,” the lawyer said.

Yoran is due to complete her summary on Tuesday. Follow the jury’s instructions and deliberations.