Daniel Penny, accused of choking a distressed New York City subway rider to death, arrives for opening statements in New York on Friday.Photo by Kena Betancur/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Vet's subway chokehold courageous, defense says; prosecution argues it went 'too far'

Opening statments presented to jury in New York City subway manslaughter trial

by · National Post

Prosecutors and defence lawyers agree on one thing about Marine veteran Daniel Penny’s encounter last year with a distressed, angry and threatening man on a New York subway: Penny didn’t mean to kill him.

But a prosecutor told jurors Friday that Penny “went way too far” in trying to neutralize someone he saw as a threat and not as a person, while a defence attorney said Penny showed “courage” and put others’ welfare ahead of his own when he placed Jordan Neely in a chokehold that ended with Neely limp on the floor.

Jury selection underway for NYC subway chokehold death trialJury selection began Monday in the criminal trial of the U.S. Marine Corps veteran charged with manslaughter for placing a man in a deadly chokehold on a New York City subway train last year.Philip Marcelo, 21 Oct 2024Former Marine Daniel Penny to be arraigned in NYC subway chokehold death of Jordan NeelyNEW YORK (AP) — A U.S. Marine veteran will be arraigned Wednesday in the fatal chokehold of a man who was behaving erratically on a New York City subway train.28 Jun 2023