NEW YORK – Tuesday was the first full day of the defense’s case the trial of Daniel Penny.
He is the Marine veteran charged with second-degree manslaughter and negligent homicide the chokehold death of Jordan Neely30, boarding the subway last year.
Prosecutors are trying to prove that Penny was reckless and although his intentions were good, he used excessive force, putting Neely in a chokehold for nearly six minutes. Penny told detectives after the incident that he applied no pressure.
Character witnesses testify for Daniel Penny
Penny’s mother, Gina, took the stand and told the jury that he learned honesty, humility and kindness growing up, did well in school, in sports and played bass in a few Long Island orchestras.
She looked at him as she testified and told the court she loved him with all her heart.
“Of course I would be here for my son,” she said.
Penny’s platoon sergeants took the stand and told the jury about the values of the Marine Corps – honor, courage and dedication – and explained that if you don’t uphold those values, you won’t get a promotion.
Penny’s lawyer asked a Marine veteran if Penny had a reputation “as a calm and peaceful person.”
“Absolutely,” he said, also noting that Penny received a Humanitarian Service Medal for hurricane relief.
“You have to be someone who shows empathy that is beyond reproach,” he said.
Another Marine said: If you give him a task, I’m sure it will be completed and done well.
Expert reviews Neely’s psychiatric records
Witnesses have stated this Neely boarded an F train in May 2023 and shouted threatsand that Penny tried to restrain him.
On Tuesday afternoon, a forensic psychiatrist, an expert witness for the defense, took the stand. He assessed Neely’s psychiatric recordsthousands of pages detailing more than a dozen hospital admissions.
Neely, he says, was diagnosed with schizophrenia and K2 abuse.
This doctor never evaluated Neely, but says he would classify his mental illness as “severe” based on his history. He reads from some reports ‘he describes paranoid fears’. [that] people want to hurt him.”
He mentions hearing the devil’s voice.
A hospital report stated that while smoking K2, Neely said, “He had changed the world with Tupac Shakur and now his life is in danger.”
There is no court on Wednesday. The defense will call another expert witness on Thursday.
Alice Gainer
