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Daniel Penny's fate hangs in the balance as jury reportedly deadlocked
After a long period of deliberation, the jury in Daniel Penny's trial reportedly informed the judge on Friday that jurors were unable to reach a verdict, leaving the 26-year-old Marine veteran's fate still undecided.Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office charged Penny with second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide for the death of Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man with schizophrenia. Penny is facing up to 15 years behind bars. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.In May 2023, Penny placed Neely in a chokehold after Neely made death threats to passengers on a New York City subway car. Neely shouted at straphangers that he was going to "die today" and did not care about being sent to prison. 'Sometimes the Allen charge works; sometimes it doesn't.'Neely had an extensive criminal record, notably including an assault on a 67-year-old woman at a subway station in 2021.Prosecutors blamed Penny for Neely's death, claiming that he restrained Neely for too long. Much of the prosecution's case relied on shaky testimony from Dr. Cynthia Harris, who performed the autopsy. Prior to viewing the video of Penny placing Neely in the chokehold, Harris was unable to determine Neely's cause of death, labeling it as "inconclusive." After viewing the video, she amended the cause of death to "asphyxia." Harris further claimed that she would stand by that assessment even if Neely had enough narcotics in his system "to put down an elephant."A toxicology report revealed that Neely had a synthetic marijuana in his system, referred to as K2, which functions as a stimulant.Dr. Satish Chundru, a forensic pathologist, challenged Harris' conclusion, contending that Neely's death was not due to an air or blood choke. Chundru pointed out the "almost negligible" spots of bleeding on Neely's eyelids, which he argued were inconsistent with a fatal chokehold.According to Chundru, Neely died from "the combined effects of sickle-cell crisis, the schizophrenia, the struggle and restraint, and the synthetic marijuana."Chundru explained that schizophrenia causes an "increased risk of sudden cardiac death" and mentioned that K2 has been the singular cause of death in other cases he has observed.To reach a guilty verdict, jurors were told that they must conclude that Penny's use of force was unwarranted and that he acted recklessly, deliberately ignoring the potential danger to Neely's life.Since deliberations began on Tuesday, the jury, which consisted of seven women and five men, sent seven notes to the judge requesting to re-examine multiple pieces of evidence.They revisited the New York Police Department's interrogation of Penny, during which he waived his Miranda rights and was unaware at the time that Neely had passed away. Jurors took another look at several videos, including of the incident and the officers' body camera once they arrived on scene. They also requested to rehear portions of the judge's instructions, the cross-examination testimony from Harris, and definitions of criminal negligence and recklessness.The jury sent the judge a note on Friday morning stating that jurors were struggling to reach a verdict.Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Maxwell Wiley is reportedly considering providing the jury with an “Allen” charge, pressing them to come to a unanimous decision.Senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano told Newsmax, "The judge is trying to decide, 'Am I going to abandon this and say a mistrial, you got to start all over, or am I going to give an Allen charge?'"Napolitano noted that there are several versions of the Allen charge but explained that the judge, in this circumstance, would likely tell the jurors they have "a duty" to decide and put aside personal prejudices."Sometimes the Allen charge works; sometimes it doesn't," he added.Anything else?On Wednesday, Neely's father, Andre Zachary, filed a lawsuit against Penny alleging negligent assault, battery, and serious injury that led to his son's death.Steven Raiser, Penny's attorney, told Fox News Digital, "The timing is unfortunate as Danny is awaiting a verdict from the jury where the potential consequences are far greater than any civil suit could threaten.""We will not be distracted by this attempt to attack Danny while he is under such tremendous stress," he stated.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
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