Daniel Penny selected to not testify and protection legal professionals rested their case Friday at his trial within the loss of life of an agitated man he choked on a subway practice.
Closing arguments are anticipated after Thanksgiving within the carefully watched manslaughter case concerning the loss of life of Jordan Neely, 30.
The encounter between Penny, a white Marine veteran, and Neely, a homeless Black man with psychological well being and drug issues, has been drawn into U.S. political divides over race, public security and cities’ capability to deal with psychological sickness and social ills.
Penny, 26, has pleaded not responsible. Many felony defendants do not take the stand, and juries are routinely instructed that they can not maintain defendants’ silence — a constitutional proper — in opposition to them.
One in every of Penny’s legal professionals, Daniel Kenniff, famous after courtroom that jurors did hear from Penny, within the type of his recorded statements to police minutes and hours after he put Neely in a chokehold.
“Just about the whole lot he mentioned then is according to credible testimony of his fellow passengers,” Kenniff mentioned.
Penny advised police that he wrapped his arm round Neely’s neck, took him to the ground and “put him out” as a result of he was angrily throwing issues and making threatening feedback. Penny mentioned on police video that he hadn’t needed to injure Neely however quite to maintain him from hurting anybody else.
A variety of different passengers testified that they had been petrified of Neely and relieved that Penny grabbed maintain of him.
A person who later stepped in and held down Neely’s arms, nevertheless, advised jurors that he urged Penny to let go however that the veteran saved choking Neely for a time.
Prosecutors say Penny meant to guard individuals however recklessly used an excessive amount of drive, overlooking Neely’s humanity and making no effort to spare his life.
Metropolis medical experts dominated that the chokehold killed Neely. A pathologist employed by Penny’s protection disputed that discovering.
Prosecutors, protection legal professionals and the choose are set to satisfy Monday to hash out jury directions.
