Alvin Bragg’s office admits it won’t be ‘easy’ to convict Daniel Penny over death of Jordan Neely

Speaking to a group of potential jurors, Assistant District Attorney of DA Alvin Bragg’s office Dafna Yoran acknowledged the case’s complexity, saying, "This is not an easy case … of a bad man doing a bad thing," per the The New York Post.

“It’s not easy finding someone guilty of killing somebody when you know they didn’t mean it,” Yoran told potential jurors, referring to the incident in which Penny restrained Neely in a chokehold, leading to his death.

Yoran also advised the jury pool to focus on the legal facts of the case despite hearing “nice things” about Penny such as his background as a former Marine. “You’re not here to judge the defendant as a person… You are here to figure out what happened and did he commit this crime,” she said.

The prosecutor further discussed Neely’s behavior leading up to the incident, noting that he was mentally ill, had “self-medicated” with synthetic marijuana, and was reportedly acting “erratically and menacingly” toward other passengers.

“So he’s the one who really set into motion,” Yoran said, referring to Neely. “It could be tempting to think he brought this upon himself and he’s responsible for his own death.” Yoran acknowledged the temptation to view Neely as responsible for his own death but emphasized, “Under the law, all life is the same.”

When the potential jurors were questioned by Justice Maxwell Wiley and the District Attorney’s office, more than half a dozen of them shared that they had felt “personally threatened” while riding on New York City subways. Jury selection is still underway. If convicted of manslaughter, Penny could face up to 15 years in prison.