NEW YORK — Daniel Penny and his lawyers spoke out on Tuesday afterward a jury found Penny not guilty of Jordan Neely’s death.
Penny spoke to FOX News the day after the verdict.
“The guilt I would have felt if someone got hurt [Neely] If I did what we threatened to do, I would never be able to live with myself,” said Penny.
Lawyer says Daniel Penny was “scared” before the verdict was read
Steven Raiser, one of Penny’s attorneys, spoke with Alice Gainer of CBS News New York.
“What was going through everyone’s minds when they came back with their judgment so quickly on Monday morning?” Gainer asked.
‘Danny was scared. We were all scared of him,” Raiser said.
On Friday, the jury returned notes that they were deadlocked on the top charge of second-degree murder. The judge dismissed the charges, sent them home early and gave them instructions to begin deliberations on the lesser charge of negligent homicide Monday morning.
“Was he willing to go to jail?” Gainer asked.
“He knew it was on the table. When that top count was dismissed, that obviously became less of a possibility, but it was still a possibility that he was concerned about, but he understood that was a consequence of going to trial come and he was willing to accept that,” Raiser said.
The jury deliberated for about an hour or less and unanimously found the 26-year-old Marine veteran not guilty of the chokehold death of 30-year-old Neely last year in the metro.
Prosecutors told jurors that Penny’s intentions were good to protect others from an erratic and threatening Neely, but claimed he held the chokehold for too long.
“There was a lack of evidence that he continuously applied enough pressure to render him unconscious and then continued that pressure until he died,” Raiser said.
Daniel Penny plans to work and continue school, attorney says
Penny’s attorneys, also military veterans, understood Penny’s actions.
“Why he made the move the way he did, why he was able to overcome that kind of fear and put himself in danger,” Raiser said.
Protesters outside the courthouse taunted Penny daily, shouting “justice for Jordan Neely” and “murderer.”
“He obviously regrets the loss of life,” Raiser said.
Gainer contacted the Manhattan district attorney’s office to request a sit-down interview but has not yet heard back.
Raiser said that now that the trial is over, Penny plans to work full time and continue school, where he is studying architecture.
Demonstrators protest against Daniel Penny’s sentence
Dozens of people, including community activists, gathered in Union Square Tuesday evening to protest the verdict.
Organizers said the city is also responsible for failing to address the homelessness crisis failing to provide adequate mental health care to vulnerable New Yorkers.
“This is a callous and inhumane way to look at the situation. Daniel Penny is not a Good Samaritan, he is a murderer, and he was protected by the same system that failed Jordan Neely,” said activist Sean Blackmon.
Neely’s father has filed a civil lawsuit against Penny.
