Daniel Penny Found Not Guilty of Criminally Negligent Homicide 

Daniel Penny has been acquitted following a dropped manslaughter charge on Friday and a not guilty verdict Monday morning on the charge of criminally negligent homicide.

For Context: Penny was charged in the case of Jordan Neely, who he put in a chokehold for six minutes on a Manhattan train in May 2023. Neely threatened other passengers on the train, but did not physically assault anyone, nor was he armed. Neely was homeless and struggled with schizophrenia and drug use. Penny's attorneys argued the marine veteran was acting in defense of the other passengers, while the prosecution argued that Penny recklessly endangered Neely by holding him in the chokehold for that long. 

The Trial: On Friday, the prosecution dropped the top charge of manslaughter after the jury deadlocked on the issue twice. Then, the jury was able to consider the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide. 

How the Media Covered It: The National Review (Lean Right) highlighted Neely's past conviction, said "liberals painted Neely as the victim of racism in America" and the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was "normally soft-on-crime." MSNBC (Left bias) said the case "spotlighted issues of race, public safety, mental health and vigilantism in the city," mentioning the race of Penny and Neely in the article. MSNBC quoted the defense and prosecution, but ended on an emotional appeal, "Penny didn’t realize that Neely was also a person whose life needed protecting, the prosecutor told the jury."