‘It’s not the time for a mistrial’: Jury deadlocked in Penny Subway chokehold case

After two days of deliberations, the jury is no closer to a verdict in the case against Daniel Penny.

Penny, a 26-year-old former Marine, strangled former street artist Jordan Neely on the New York subway in May 2023. Witnesses said Neely behaved erratically in the moments before his death but did not threaten anyone on the subway train. Prosecutors say Neely’s actions crossed the line and have him charged with manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter. Neely’s lawyers claim he acted in self-defense.

Penny’s jury announced Thursday after 16 hours of deliberations that they had disagreed on Penny’s involuntary manslaughter charge. Judge Maxwell Wiley ordered her to return to deliberations as Penny’s lawyers requested a mistrial.

“This is not the time for a mistrial,” Wiley told lawyers, according to CNN.

Penny held Neely in a fatal chokehold and was captured on video by bystanders. Penny told police at the time that he had no intention of hurting Neely.

“I wasn’t trying to hurt him,” Penny said in an interview with police shared during the trial. “I’m just trying to stop him from hurting anyone else. He threatened.”

On Thursday, the jury asked for clarification on the concept of a “reasonable person” in determining whether Neely’s actions were out of character.

“We, the jury, request further clarification in determining whether a person reasonably believes that physical force is necessary,” the jury said in a statement to Wiley. “We want to better understand the concept of a reasonable person.”

Wiley told jurors that the definition is up to their interpretation.

The indictment is structured so that Penny can only be charged with involuntary manslaughter if the jury finds him not guilty of manslaughter. The latter requires the jury to find that Penny acted recklessly in causing Neely’s death. The murder charge requires only that Penny engaged in “reprehensible conduct.” For second-degree manslaughter, the maximum penalty is 15 years in prison. The maximum penalty for involuntary manslaughter is four years.