Marine vet Daniel Penny to stand trial on October 8 in subway death of Jordan Neely

The trial for Daniel Penny, a former Marine charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the subway death of Jordan Neely, is scheduled to commence on October 8.

Penny, who plead not guilty, was arrested following an altercation on an uptown F train in New York City where he subdued a violent homeless man, Neely, who was exhibiting erratic and aggressive behavior towards passengers, according to witnesses. During the altercation, Penny and another passenger restrained Neely, with Penny ultimately placing him in a chokehold. Neely died as a result, with a New York medical examiner ruling the cause of death as "compression of the neck," classifying it as a homicide.

Despite attempts to have the case dismissed last October, Penny was unsuccessful. Thomas Kenniff, Penny's lawyer, expressed that he found it “unfortunate this case was brought at all.” However, he stated that Penny remains “confident” that he will be found not innocent. 

The lawyer that represents Neely’s family feels otherwise, however. The attorney, Lennon Edwards, conveyed the family’s ongoing suffering and said that they are “still in pain from the altercation.”

“Justice has not been served yet, but we’re expecting, we’re holding onto the belief that justice will be done in this case,” said Edwards.

“He was the dangerous one,” Edwards added. “On that day, Daniel Penny was judge, jury, and executioner. And we’re expecting that when this trial starts, he will be facing a judge, a jury, and a sentence.”

However, Kenniff rebuked these claims, asserting Neely's aggression and potential threat to others during the altercation.

“It was Jordan Neely who told a mother and her young child who were cowering behind a stroller that he was ready to go to prison for the rest of his life if he didn’t get to take what he wanted,” Kenniff said to the New York Post.

The trial is set to last between four to six weeks, according to Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Maxwell Wiley. If convicted, Penny faces a sentence of up to 19 years in prison.