Jury selection continues in the trial of Daniel Penny, who faces charges relating to the death of a homeless man who allegedly threatened New York City subway passengers last year.
The judge overseeing the case said Monday that jury selection would take a while, CBS News reported. This week will consist of screening potential jurors and determining whether they will be available for the whole trial or if they know anyone expected to be called as a witness.
The judge also asked all the potential jurors present if they had heard of the case – and most raised their hands.
The judge prompted Penny to stand and face the gallery, saying “Good morning” in a soft voice and waving to potential jurors while the judge spoke, CBS reported.
“The truth is only going to come out through this trial. There’s a lot of evidence people aren’t aware of. There’s a lot of assumptions that have been made that are going to be dispelled,” defense attorney Steven Raiser said, according to the outlet.
Penny, 25, faces up to 19 years in prison after he put Jordan Neely, who was allegedly threatening passengers, in a chokehold. Neely died at the scene.
Penny’s attorneys have argued that their client’s chokehold was justified due to Neely’s threatening behavior, but they also question whether the chokehold caused Neely’s death. The medical examiner never provided specific evidence to support the claim that Neely died of asphyxiation from the chokehold, the New York Post reported.
“Some people say I was trying to choke him to death, which is also not true. I was trying to restrain him,” Penny said previously, according to The Daily Wire. “You can see in the video there’s a clear rise and fall of his chest, indicating that he’s breathing. I’m trying to restrain him from being able to carry out the threats.”
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The defense will also try to admit evidence of Neely’s abuse of the drug K2, which was found in his system when he died, though the medical examiner’s report didn’t say how much of the drug was found. Penny’s defense has attempted to dismiss the case based on this information but has been denied.
Neely was given Narcan – a powerful drug to combat overdoses – by first responders when they first arrived at the scene, CBS reported. Those first responders also didn’t immediately perform CPR because they found Neely had a faint pulse when they arrived. They did eventually perform CPR.
Penny said he took action against Neely because Neely was threatening passengers. Court documents from the incident indicate fellow passengers were afraid of Neely and feared for their lives, The Daily Wire reported.
“I want to hurt people, I want to go to Rikers. I want to go to prison,” one woman said Neely was yelling that day on the subway. That woman, who was with her son, said she hid behind his stroller as Neely allegedly charged at other passengers.
The court documents also say that a high school student prayed after Neely yelled, “Someone is going to die today.” Another woman described Neely’s actions that day as “sickening” and “satanic.” She also said she believed she “was going to die” when Neely approached her. She called the experience “absolutely traumatizing.” Another passenger, who has used the subway for more than 30 years, said nothing had “put fear into me” like Neely had.
