Involuntary manslaughter charges against Daniel Penny dropped as jury deadlocked

A Manhattan judge agreed to drop involuntary manslaughter charges against Daniel Penny after prosecutors requested it after the jury that decided the ex-Marine’s fate deadlocked.

Penny is still charged with involuntary manslaughter in the May 2023 chokehold death of Jordan Neely. But on Friday, after three days of jury deliberations failed to reach a verdict, the Manhattan District Attorney asked Judge Maxwell Wiley to drop the manslaughter charge Penny was facing, which could have gotten him 15 years in prison , Associated Press reported.

If convicted of involuntary manslaughter, a lesser charge than manslaughter, the maximum penalty under the New York Penal Code would be four years in prison.

The jury had already informed Judge Wiley on Friday that no verdict could be reached on the involuntary manslaughter charge. Over objections from the defense seeking a mistrial, the judge agreed to grant the prosecutor’s request, CNN reports.

AP reports the judge ordered the jury to go home for a day to decide on the lesser charge.

Neely died on May 1, 2023, after being held in a chokehold by Penny on the floor of a Manhattan subway.

Prosecutors allege that Penny wrapped his arm around Neely’s neck for too long and with too much force; Penny’s lawyers say he was acting on behalf of both himself and the other passengers on the train in defense against Neely, who was allegedly threatening other passengers.