Prosecutors and the lawyers for Daniel Penny, who is accused of choking Jordan Neely to death on a New York City subway, spent several hours on Thursday arguing what evidence should be allowed during the upcoming trial.
Penny, a 25-year-old former Marine, is facing second-degree manslaughter and negligent homicide charges in connection with the 2023 death of 30-year-old Neely.
Neely, a homeless man who was well-known Michael Jackson impersonator, got on the subway at the Second Avenue station and reportedly began yelling and threatening people. Penny then allegedly came up to Neely from behind and placed him into a chokehold.
Neely was later pronounced dead at a hospital. His death was ruled a homicide by compression of the neck.
Daniel Penny appeared in court on Thursday as prosecutors and defense discussed what evidence should be admissible at the trial. The trial is scheduled to being on October 21.
Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images and AP Photo/Pamela Smith
The prosecution and defense reviewed various pieces of evidence during the hearing and argued whether they should be allowed to be presented during the trial. The hearing is expected to continue on Friday.
The trial is scheduled to begin on October 21.
One piece of evidence shown at the hearing was Penny’s interview with NYPD detectives. In the video, Penny claimed that Neely was acting aggressively and threatening to kill people on the subway train.
“I’m not trying to kill the guy. I’m just trying to de-escalate the situation,” Penny said during the interview.
He was also asked to demonstrate the chokehold he put Neely in.
Footage from police body cameras was also shown in court by prosecutors.
Lawyers for Penny asked the judge to exclude his statements to officers at the subway station and precinct. They argued that Penny was being treated as a witness at the time, not a suspect, so the statements should not be admissible.
They also asked the judge to dismiss his indictment.
Prosecutors argued that the comments made by Penny are admissible. They asked the judge to rule against the admission of Neely’s health records and some experts the defense plans to call during trial.
Before the hearing, the defense requested to introduce over 6,000 pages about Neely’s background and allow forensic psychiatrist Dr. Alexander Bardey to testify about Neely’s alleged abuse of the drug K2.
“Their suggested introduction is a transparent attempt by the defense to smear the victim’s character so that the jury will devalue his life,” Assistant District Attorney Dafna Yoran wrote in a recent filing.
Penny’s attorney, Thomas Kenniff, disputed this claim.
“It is the government’s motives that should be examined, as they seek to impede the jury’s truth-seeking function by suggesting that jurors be barred from considering facts relevant to issues material to this case,” Kenniff wrote in a response.
Penny is facing five to 15 years in prison for the manslaughter charge and up to four years for the negligent homicide charge. He is currently free on $100,000 bail.
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