Manslaughter charge dismissed against Daniel Penny after jury fails to reach verdict: Live trial updates

The jury cannot reach a verdict on the most important charge – second-degree manslaughter.

Now prosecutors have asked whether they can dismiss the charge and let the jury focus solely on the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter.

Penny’s lawyers are demanding a mistrial.

They say the prosecution’s request is a desperate last attempt to keep the charges alive.

In the case of negligent homicide, it must be proven that the defendant negligently caused the death of another person. The penalty is up to 15 years.

Involuntary manslaughter, which is punishable by a suspended sentence of up to four years in prison, is serious “reprehensible behavior” without awareness of such a danger.

The jury could not decide unanimously whether Penny was guilty of manslaughter or not.

“I will take the risk and grant the people’s request,” Judge Wiley said after prosecutors moved to dismiss the involuntary manslaughter charge against Penny because the jury could not agree on a verdict.

The judge added: “Normally the distinction between the two charges is very clear. The reasoning adds another element at play here.”

The jury would now have to deliberate on the second charge against the veteran – involuntary manslaughter, which carries a penalty of up to four years.

Penny’s lawyer had argued against the prosecution’s request, saying, “This has never been done before.” It would encourage prosecutors to over-indict before the grand jury, with the option to withdraw under duress if they do gets stuck.”

The judge told the jury: “Manslaughter is dismissed.”

“That means you can now think about point two.” Whether that makes a difference or not, I have no idea. I will instruct you to focus your considerations on point two. They will make a judgment about it. Point one is no longer important to you.’

Assistant District Attorney Dafna Yoran has asked the judge to dismiss the involuntary manslaughter charge against Penny so that the trial on the second charge, involuntary manslaughter, can continue.

Penny’s lawyers opposed the move, saying it would “bend and coerce the jury.”

Yoran is pictured below in court on December 2nd.

Judge Wiley warned that if the jury could not reach a unanimous decision, a new trial would have to be scheduled with a different jury.

He said two and a half days of deliberations may seem like a long time, but “given the factual complexity of the case, I don’t think it is too long.”

Jurors in Manhattan have been deliberating since Tuesday whether to convict Daniel Penny in the death of Jordan Neely, whom the Navy veteran held in a chokehold for about six minutes on a New York subway on May 1, 2023.

The panelists sent Judge Maxwell Wiley a message this morning saying they were unable to agree on a verdict on the involuntary manslaughter charge.

Wiley then read them a so-called Allen indictment – an order urging them to make every effort possible to reach a verdict.

As he urged the jury to move on, Wiley praised them for being “very diligent in their deliberations” and noted that it was not unusual to have difficulty reaching a verdict.

The jury then came back again and said they were unable to vote unanimously.

Penny’s supporters included New York Mayor Eric Adams.

In a shock intervention this weekend before the trial, Adams came out to criticize the media for how it portrayed Neely.

He also praised Penny for his actions and criticized New York’s systems that allowed the mentally ill and violent Neely to walk free.

A star lacrosse player in high school, Penny grew up with his three sisters and parents in West Islip on southern Long Island.

Those who knew him described him as a good boy who was always ready to help those around him.

Penny’s military service, which included two deployments, earned him various awards and decorations, and he achieved the rank of sergeant before leaving active duty in 2021.

Assistant District Attorney Dafna Yoran on Tuesday showed a graphic photo of the inside of Neely’s eye taken during an autopsy after his death, shocking the room.

The image was beamed across four screens – two facing the jury, a third facing the public gallery and a fourth directly in front of the defendant.

Meanwhile, Penny’s lawyer intervened in the prosecution after journalists were bombarded with emails from the DA’s office asking them to include certain details in their stories.

In his closing argument, defense attorney Steven Raiser pointed out that no expert could prove key elements beyond a reasonable doubt during the trial.

Neely’s death in the subway car last spring sparked racial tensions in the Big Apple, as groups like Black Lives Matter tried to portray Penny as an overzealous white ex-Marine who targeted an innocent black man.

But the national attention to the trial has also led many conservatives to question why Penny was charged in the first place.

Penny was charged with manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter. He faces up to 15 years in prison.