By Darren Lyn
HOUSTON, US (AA) - A jury in the state of New York found US Marine veteran Daniel Penny not guilty of murder Monday in the 2023 subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely.
"We couldn't be more pleased that a jury of Danny's peers acquitted him of any wrongdoing," Penny's lawyers said in a statement after the verdict was handed down.
"And now New Yorkers can take some comfort in knowing that we can continue to stand up for one another without sacrificing our rights or our freedoms."
Video of the May 1, 2023 incident showed Penny holding Neely in a chokehold on the floor of the train after police said Neely, a homeless street performer, boarded the car and began shouting, making threats and throwing things. Penny held Neely in that position for several minutes until Neely stopped moving. Police said Neely did not have any weapons on him.
The medical examiner ruled Neely's death a homicide and charged Penny in June with criminally negligent homicide and second-degree manslaughter, to which he pleaded not guilty.
Penny defended his actions, saying he was trying to protect other passengers on the train.
"My nephew was murdered, and the guy walked free," Neely's uncle told reporters after Penny was acquitted. "It's an injustice."
The verdict sparked protests outside the Manhattan courthouse, where hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets chanting "No justice, no peace."
"My son didn't have to go through this," said Neely's father, Andre Zachary, at a news conference.
"What's gonna happen to us now? I’ve had enough of this. The system is rigged. Come on, people. Let's do something about this."
The judge dismissed the manslaughter charge against Penny on Friday after jurors could not reach a unanimous decision on that count. The jurors on Monday then presented their not guilty verdict for the felony charge of criminally negligent homicide.
Penny faced a maximum possible sentence of 15 years in prison had he been convicted of the manslaughter charge. He could have been sentenced to four years in prison for the negligent homicide charge.
"It was foolish of us to think that a Black man would get justice in a system that is designed to keep him oppressed," Chivona Newsome, co-founder of Black Lives Matter Greater New York, said in a statement.