Daniel Penny trial now in the hands of the jury

(NewsNation) — Jury deliberations began on Tuesday in the trial of Daniel Penny, the Marine veteran who is accused of choking a man to death on a New York City subway in 2023.

On Tuesday, prosecutors wrapped up their closing arguments in the trial, which began in November and has included 40 witnesses over the past seven weeks. Penny is charged with manslaughter and reckless homicide in the death of Jordan Neely.

Prosecutors have argued that while Penny is justified in defending himself, he went too far in placing a chokehold on Neely, a man experiencing homelessness who was witnessed threatening passengers and behaving erratically.

Penny’s attorneys maintain that their client likely saved lives after Neely reportedly threatened to kill fellow passengers.

The central issue of the trial is which way Penny’s actions should be perceived. Neely arrived at court on Tuesday with bystanders chanting, “guilty, guilty, guilty” as the architecture student made his way to the courthouse.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg attended Monday’s closing arguments and was seated with Neely’s family. Bragg was not in attendance on Tuesday as a judge gave instructions to the jury early in the afternoon.

Penny’s attorneys said that their client risked his life for other passengers. They also asked jurors to put themselves in the shoes of subway passengers, but prosecutors argued that Penny used “way too much force for way too long.”

They also argued that society cannot tolerate an “unjust and untimely death” of a fellow American based on what could have been empty threats.

Neely was found to have a synthetic form of marijuana in his system and suffered from several medical conditions at the time of his death, experts have testified during the trial. Neely also had a warrant out for his arrest at the time.

The jury is made up of seven women and five men and there is no timeline for how long deliberations could take before a verdict is returned.