A judge just ensured that the trial against Daniel Penny for the chokehold death of Jordan Neely will happen this year.
Penny was charged with second-degree manslaughter after being seen on a six-minute video choking Neely on a subway train in New York City last May. The video went viral and sparked a national outcry for Penny’s indictment.
A medical examiner ruled that Neely died by chokehold and ruled his death a homicide.
Penny’s legal team filed a motion to dismiss the case, but a judge dismissed the filing, noting that the medical examiner’s testimony and other gathered evidence were sufficient enough to put Penny on trial.
“The Court has reviewed the cases cited by [the] defendant in light of the evidence presented and finds that, here, the evidence was legally sufficient to establish that [the] defendant acted with both recklessness and criminal negligence,” Judge Maxwell Wiley said in the decision.
WABC reports that Penny’s case will return to court on March 20 and his trial will likely start in the fall.
“While we disagree with the Court’s decision not to dismiss the indictment, we understand that the legal threshold to continue even an ill-conceived prosecution is very low,” Penny’s lawyers, Steven Raiser and Thomas Kenniff, said in a statement. “We are confident that a jury, aware of Danny’s actions in putting aside his own safety to protect the lives of his fellow riders, will deliver a just verdict. Danny is grateful for the continued prayers and support through this difficult process.”
The lawyer representing Neely’s family called the decision a win.
“His attorneys tried to get the judge to overrule that – to say that what the grand jury said didn’t matter, but the judge didn’t do that, the judge said Daniel Penny will face these charges,” attorney Donte Mills said.
Neely’s family said that Neely was homeless before he died and had been struggling ever since his mother was murdered in 2007. They’re hoping that Penny is convicted for the crimes he faces.
Penny’s legal team argues that Neely was a threat to people on the subway after undergoing an alleged mental episode that put people in danger, which prompted Penny to step in and act.
However, prosecutors plan to argue that Penny’s hold on Neely for several minutes was excessive and unnecessary to incapacitate him.
Witnesses have told news outlets that Neely was yelling on the train, but some reported that they didn’t feel threatened by his actions.
After Neely’s death, many purported that Penny’s actions were racially motivated, which Penny denied.
“This had nothing to do with race,” Penny told The New York Post. “I judge a person based on their character. I’m not a white supremacist.”
Penny has pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter charge and criminally negligent homicide.
