Veteran found not guilty of negligent homicide in death of homeless man on nyc subway

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: A Manhattan jury has found Daniel Penny not guilty of criminally negligent homicide. Penny is a 26-year-old Marine veteran who used a deadly choke hold on an unhoused man

on a New York City subway last year. The verdict in this case drew protests and intense reaction inside the courtroom. Reporter Charles Lane of member station WNYC was in the court. Hi

there. CHARLES LANE, BYLINE: Good afternoon. SHAPIRO: Tell us what happened on that subway car last year. LANE: So Jordan Neely was a Michael Jackson impersonator. He boarded the train, and

he starts yelling that he's hungry and thirsty, ready to die or go to jail. That's according to witnesses. Neely experienced mental illness, and he had been living in and out of

shelters. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia. He had been hospitalized multiple times. He also used synthetic marijuana. And so Daniel Penny takes him down and holds him in a choke hold for

about six minutes. Prosecutors say that while Penny's intent was laudable at first, he went, quote, "way too far and held tightly for too long." On the other side, defense

said that Penny was acting to protect not just himself but others, and that people on the train were terrified. SHAPIRO: And he was originally charged with manslaughter and criminally

negligent homicide. The jury spent several days deliberating last week. They told the judge they couldn't reach a verdict. Why were they having such a hard time? LANE: Well, the

question that they seemed to wrestle with most was - and they actually sent this to the judge in a note - was, quote, "what does a reasonable person mean?" Meaning, like, would a

reasonable person have done what Penny did in those same circumstances? When the jury was deadlocked, the judge dismissed the more serious manslaughter charge, leaving just the criminally

negligent homicide charge to consider, and, ultimately, they found Penny not guilty. SHAPIRO: And what was the reaction in the courtroom when the verdict was read? LANE: Yeah, after the jury

announced the verdict, the courtroom just burst into commotion. At first, there was applause, but then Neely's father, Andre Zachery, turned around and yelled obscenities at the person

behind him. His lawyers tried to subdue him, but then the judge ejected him from the courtroom. Soon after that, more shouting broke out as people, upset at the verdict, began calling the

country racist. Neely was Black, and Penny is white. After court, Donte Mills, who's the lawyer for Neely's family, he said that they were let down by the justice system.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) DONTE MILLS: We're devastated, upset, angry, hurt. Over and over again, we keep coming to the system, asking the system to let us know that our lives

have value. LANE: The family of Jordan Neely has filed a civil lawsuit against Penny, alleging negligence over his death. SHAPIRO: This case prompted a debate on a range of issues. Can you

talk more about the broader issues that this raised? LANE: Yeah, people felt a lot of empathy for Neely, who obviously had his struggles, but they also saw Penny as someone who tried to

intervene in a situation where people were genuinely afraid. Even before the verdict was read, protests outside the courthouse could be heard. The chanting, we could hear it all the way up

on the 13th floor, and they were calling for justice for Neely. On the other side, some conservatives hailed the verdict as a win. Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said on social

media that the jury deserves credit for doing the right thing. And many people in New York City are feeling a real lack of safety, especially on the subway. Felony assaults and petty

assaults - petty thefts are up. SHAPIRO: All right, that's Charles Lane of member station WNYC. Thank you. LANE: Thank you. (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright

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