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NEW YORK – Lawyers for Marine veteran Daniel Penny, who is on trial for the death of a man they described as “mentally deranged” in court, asked a judge to declare a mistrial Thursday because of the testimony of a “biased” and apparent opposing witness – White’s account from Manhattan District Attorneys Alvin Prague.
The defense argued that Penny was not getting a fair trial, and raised a number of objections, saying the prosecution was trying to paint Penny as a “white vigilante” and improperly allowed witness Johnny Grima, a homeless man convicted of beating someone. With a bat, to call a defendant a “murderer” from the witness stand when he or she is not accused of murder.
Defense lawyer Thomas Kenniff said Penny, 26, was an architecture student who was studying at a New York City university after proudly serving her country in the Marines.
He said Neely, 30, was “unsound” and had a documented history of causing trouble, including allegedly assaulting a 67-year-old woman in another subway car.
Danielle Penny Trial: Subway Madman Raised His Fists Before Fatally Choking Navy Vet, Witnesses Testify
Daniel Penny arrives for the start of arguments at his trial in Manhattan Supreme Court in New York City on November 1, 2024. Penny, a Marine Corps veteran, is charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the 2023 death of Jordan Neely on a plane . New York City subway train. (Adam Gray for Fox News Digital)
This remark prompted observers at the gallery to start speaking, and court officers asked them to “quiet.”
Judge Maxwell Wylie rejected the request but told Kenniff: “I see what you’re getting at.”
Grima, an unemployed 40-year-old from the Bronx who spends time working with the homeless and spent 13 months behind bars, testified that he poured water over the unconscious Neely’s head when Benny told him to stop.
He then claimed that Benny was “carelessly tossing Nellie’s limbs” when he put him back on the floor after Grima suggested he might suffocate if left on his back. He did not witness the beginning of the altercation.
“It’s something like when you have an abuser abusing someone, and they don’t try to let anyone get close to the person who’s being abused,” he added.
Teen witnessed Jordan Neely being choked testifies she was ‘scared’ by his screaming, wanted ‘to get away’
A screenshot from a bystander’s video showing Jordan Neely being held in asphyxiation on a New York City subway. (Luces de Nueva York/Juan Alberto Vasquez via Storyful)
Penny’s defense team took issue with how objections were handled during Grima’s testimony.
Wiley said he believed Grima’s “bias” was obvious to the jury, but he still had relevant testimony to give.
Prosecutors allege that Binney went so far as to put a screaming combatant Neely in a chokehold in a Manhattan subway car after he began screaming death threats. The defense maintains that his actions were justified.
A still image from NYPD body camera video shows officers examining Jordan Neely, who is on the ground after Daniel Penny placed him in a chokehold. Benny is being tried for manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. (nypd)
“He’s not charged with murder, so you just need a reckless or negligent standard here,” said Paul Mauro, a retired NYPD inspector prosecuting the case. “Saying he was reckless when [Neely] He was screaming: “I’m going to kill someone.” . . And he’s still breathing when the cops show up – and that’s not reckless. “I’m sorry, this is not negligence.”
Danielle Penny trial: Meet the jurors who will decide the fate of a veteran in the subway choking case
Protesters hold signs calling for the abolition of the police outside the Manhattan Supreme Court Monday, October 21, 2024, in Manhattan, New York. Protesters were there when Danielle Penny’s trial began for the suffocation death of Jordan Neely. (Barry Williams for Fox News Digital)
He said Neely was known to police as an emotionally disturbed person, yet remained free to harass the public.
“The evidence of this whole thing is that the cops let him go, because of the evidence at the scene,” Mauro said. “They didn’t have a potential condition.”
The police questioned Benny and let him go. He was charged days later by Bragg’s office and turned himself in.
This undated photo, provided by Mills and Edwards, LLP, in New York, Friday, May 12, 2023, shows Jordan Neely, left, with his aunt, Carolyn Neely. (Courtesy Mills & Edwards, LLP via AP)
Benny faces up to 19 years in prison if convicted. Friday marks the 12th day of the expected six-week trial.
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Bragg’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
