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NEW YORK – A jury in Manhattan weighs the fate of Marine Corps veteran Daniel Penny. Returned to court on Monday. But only to consider his lesser charges. This was after the judge dismissed the more serious charges and avoided wrongdoing.
last Friday Judge Maxwell Wiley agreed with the prosecution’s request to dismiss the most serious charges. That is unintentional murder. This was after jurors told the court twice that they were deadlocked on the issue.
They had previously been ordered to consider the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide. Only if they find Penny not guilty of manslaughter for some reason. In addition to the lack of reason
“Manslaughter in the second degree has been dismissed,” Wiley told jurors before sending them home on Friday. “That means you are now free to consider count two. Whether it makes a difference or not, I don’t know.”
DANIEL PENNY MANSLAUGHTER CHARGE CANCELED DUE TO JURY BREAK FOR THE WEEKEND
They returned on Monday to consider only the lesser fee.
The defense objected to the exchange of charges at the last minute. They claim it violates state law. And it may support a precedent for prosecutors overcharging from the start. Knowing that they can immediately downgrade the charges later on. If their case is not settled
“The risk of a coercive judgment or a compromise verdict…New York has made clear that a compromise verdict is discouraged,” Penny’s attorney told the judge. “It will force them to produce what we are proposing to produce. This is because criminal negligence is less.”
Meanwhile, the judge agreed that the defense had correctly stated the law. But he said he would “take a chance” and dismiss the top charges.
Daniel Penny’s trial: Key evidence the jury asked to see again during the trial
“We are cautiously optimistic that the remaining counts will be dismissed by a jury on Monday,” said Steven Razer, one of Penny’s defense attorneys. told Fox News on Friday. “That would finally put the nightmare behind Danny. And it helps us focus on the civil lawsuit that was filed two days ago. for the same allegations contained in the criminal complaint.”
Penny, 26, was an architecture student at City Tech in Brooklyn on May 1, 2023, when he took the F train to the gym after school and Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man with schizophrenia and a high-drug addiction, Get on the train and shout threats to passengers
“Right now the judge is telling the jury, ‘Forget the law, forget what I told you,’” a Fox News legal analyst told Fox & Friends on Monday morning. “His decision also violates New York procedural law that prohibits dismissal at this late stage during deliberations. unless both parties agree The defense disagrees.”
Daniel Penny trial: Jurors asked to see key evidence again during trial
Several witnesses testified that they were frightened during the ordeal. and was relieved when Penny ended the explosion by grabbing Neely in a headlock and wrestling him to the ground. where he and other passengers Hold him for several minutes.
Penny remained on scene and spoke with responding officers. He also agreed to speak with NYPD detectives at the 5th Precinct building.
“He was talking nonsense. But these people were pushing people in front of trains and stuff,” he told investigators. There were more than 20 subway shoves in the year before Penny faced Neely.
Just three days earlier A subway rider was stabbed with an ice knife on a J train, according to reports. Report since time– about a month after a PBS reporter received the story Sting sucker On the number 4 train there had been a push a week earlier. and the victim crashed into the side of a moving R train. and survived–
Jurors spent much of last week deliberating and failed to reach a unanimous decision on the high-level charges.
“Judge Wiley should declare guilt,” Andrew McCarthy, former chief assistant U.S. attorney, said in a statement. of the Southern District of New York wrote in an opinion piece on Fox News on Sunday. “The next course of action at this point is to try and convict a jury. I also believe it would be a violation of New York criminal procedure law.”
Penny’s national defense fundraiser on GiveSendGo has raised more than $3 million in donations from supporters across the country. And small donations were still arriving Monday. It was the fifth day of jury deliberations. And after Neely’s father announced civil suit against Marine veterinarian
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Penny faces up to four years in prison on the lesser charge.
Fox News’ CB Cotton contributed to this report.
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