Manslaughter charge against Daniel Penny dismissed, jury asked to decide lesser charge

A judge granted a motion from Manhattan prosecutors to dismiss the more serious charge of second-degree manslaughter against Daniel Penny on Friday in his trial over the chokehold death of Jordan Neely on a New York City subway last year.

The ruling clears the way for the jury to consider a remaining lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide. It came after a Manhattan jury said they were deadlocked twice on the manslaughter charge and Penny’s defense attorneys renewed their motion for a mistrial.

Over defense objections, Judge Maxwell Wiley agreed with prosecutors, who argued that dismissing the first count of second-degree manslaughter eliminates the defense’s concern about a compromise verdict.

Penny, 26, a former Marine, now faces a single charge of criminally negligent homicide in Neely’s death, which carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison, significantly less than a potential maximum sentence of 15 years tied to the more serious charge. The judge could also choose to sentence Penny to no prison time if he is convicted.

Penny could not have been convicted of both charges, according to the judge’s instructions to the jury.

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