Daniel Penny's lawyer reveals why he declined to testify in Jordan Neely manslaughter case

Daniel Penny chose not to attest and defence lawyers rested their lawsuit Friday astatine his trial in the decease of an agitated antheral helium choked connected a subway train.

Closing arguments are expected aft Thanksgiving successful the intimately watched manslaughter lawsuit astir the decease of Jordan Neely, 30.

The brushwood betwixt Penny, a achromatic Marine veteran, and Neely, a homeless Black antheral with intelligence wellness and cause problems, has been drawn into U.S. governmental divides over race, nationalist information and cities' quality to grip intelligence unwellness and societal ills.

Penny, 26, has pleaded not guilty. Many transgression defendants don't instrumentality the stand, and juries are routinely instructed that they cannot clasp defendants' soundlessness - a law close - against them.

One of Penny's lawyers, Daniel Kenniff, noted aft tribunal that jurors did perceive from Penny, successful the signifier of his recorded statements to constabulary minutes and hours aft helium enactment Neely successful a chokehold.

'Virtually everything helium said past is accordant with credible grounds of his chap passengers,' Kenniff said.

Penny told constabulary that helium wrapped his limb astir Neely's neck, took him to the level and 'put him out' due to the fact that helium was angrily throwing things and making threatening comments. 

Penny said connected constabulary video that helium hadn't wanted to injure Neely but alternatively to support him from hurting anyone else.

A fig of different passengers testified that they were frightened of Neely and relieved that Penny grabbed clasp of him.

A antheral who aboriginal stepped successful and held down Neely's arms, however, told jurors that helium urged Penny to fto spell but that the seasoned kept choking Neely for a time.

Prosecutors accidental Penny meant to support radical but recklessly utilized excessively overmuch force, overlooking Neely's humanity and making nary effort to spare his life.

City aesculapian examiners ruled that the chokehold killed Neely. A pathologist hired by Penny's defence disputed that finding.

Prosecutors, defence lawyers and the justice are acceptable to conscionable Monday to hash retired assemblage instructions.

Neely sometimes entertained subway riders arsenic a Michael Jackson impersonator. But helium besides had a past of psychiatric and cause problems and a transgression grounds that included assaulting a pistillate astatine a subway station.

When they crossed paths successful a subway car connected May 1, 2023, Neely was begging for money, shouting astir being consenting to dice oregon spell to jail, and making abrupt movements, according to witnesses. 

Penny's lawyers person said Neely lurched toward a pistillate with a tiny kid and said, 'I volition kill.'

Penny enactment his limb astir Neely's neck, took him to the level and held Neely there, with Penny´s legs astir him, for adjacent to six minutes, bystander videos show. 

Neely had stopped moving during astir the past minute.

Penny's attorneys person said helium continued to clasp on, portion urging onlookers to telephone police, due to the fact that Neely had tried astatine points to interruption free.

Prosecutors support helium applied excessively overmuch unit for excessively long.

The trial, which started connected November 1, is expected to past up to six weeks, and volition telephone upon aesculapian experts, archetypal responders, and different passengers who were connected the bid that day.