Trial of Daniel Penny: The jury watches important videos about the death of Jordan Neely in the New York subway

NEW YORK – Jurors resumed deliberations Wednesday and asked to watch videos from police and bystanders in the chokehold manslaughter case against Daniel Penny and to hear a replay of testimony.

The jury – made up of seven women and five men – is considering whether to convict Penny of manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man, on a New York City subway.

About an hour into the second day of deliberations, the anonymous jury sought a second look at videos captured by the body cameras of officers responding to the subway car in which Penny held Jordan Neely, an agitated man whose Behavior and words misfired frightening passengers.

The jury also wanted to rewatch the video taken by a Mexican journalist on the train, which shows much of the approximately six minutes of restraint, as well as the police video of Penny’s interview at the police station with investigators.

Later that day, the jury asked to hear part of the city coroner’s cross-examination, which concluded that Penny’s chokehold killed Neely.

The coroner was the prosecution’s final witness. She concluded that Neely died from neck compression, a conclusion the defense questioned.

During intense cross-examination, during which the defense suggested that public opinion on the case had influenced their findings, she never deviated from her view.

The defense argued that Neely actually died from a genetic disorder, psychosis and synthetic marijuana.

A note on Tuesday asked for instructions from the judge on justification.

In sentencing, prosecutors told jurors that Penny’s use of deadly force must be viewed as unjustified and that Penny acted recklessly and knowingly disregarded the significant risk of keeping Neely in a chokehold for so long. Defense attorneys told the jury that Penny was only trying to protect subway passengers.

Defense attorneys also said Penny never intended to kill Neely, while prosecutors said they didn’t have to prove Penny intended to kill Neely for the jury to return a guilty verdict.

Wiley told jurors Tuesday that if Penny were convicted of manslaughter, they would not be asked to return a verdict on the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter. If they decide he is not guilty of manslaughter, they will consider the second charge.

In the case of involuntary manslaughter, it must be proven that a defendant recklessly caused the death of another person. The standard includes, among other things, the conscious disregard of a significant and unreasonable risk that an action will be fatal.

Involuntary manslaughter, on the other hand, is serious “criminal behavior” in which one is unaware of such a risk.

Both charges are felonies. Neither carries a mandatory prison sentence, but both carry the possibility of one – up to 15 years for manslaughter or four years for involuntary manslaughter.

The deliberations will continue on Thursday at 10 a.m. with approximately 30 more minutes of consultation.

—
Some information from ABC News and Associated Press

READ ALSO: Car stolen from Queens laundromat, child still inside

———-

* Get eyewitness news

* More news from New York City

* Send us a news tip

* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts

* Follow us on YouTube

Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News

Do you have a breaking news tip or idea for a story we should cover? Submit it to Eyewitness News using the form below. The terms of use apply to attaching a video or photo.