Watch: Daniel Penny Speaks Out as He Celebrates Acquittal

Daniel Penny marked his not-guilty verdict on Monday by sharing a drink with his defense attorneys at a bar in New York City.

The former Marine Corps veteran was acquitted of criminally negligent homicide by a Manhattan jury in connection to the death of Jordan Neely on a New York City subway.

The incident occurred on May 1, 2023, when Penny, then 26, restrained Neely in a chokehold after witnesses reported Neely threatened to harm passengers on the train.

According to the New York Post, Penny was seen celebrating at Stone Street Tavern in Manhattan’s financial district alongside his lawyers, Thomas Kenniff and Steven Raiser.

When approached by a Post reporter, Penny smiled and simply said, “It’s great,” when asked about his reaction to the verdict.

Kenniff added, “It feels great. He’s finally got the justice he’s deserved.”

Penny stepped aside, leaving his attorneys to answer further questions.

When someone off camera asked Kenniff if he was surprised by the verdict, he replied, “No. We think this should probably have happened on day one, but the important thing is that it happened.”

The Post reporter then followed up, asking, “Why do you think he was not guilty?”

Kenniff deferred to co-counsel Raiser, who explained, “He’s not guilty for a few different reasons. His actions were justified. He was trying to help people on that train, and he did.”

Raiser elaborated further, saying, “And number two, he’s not responsible for the death because the death was caused by a lot of other factors that we tried to present with a lot of clarity.”

The defense team argued that Neely’s death was influenced by his abuse of K2 (synthetic marijuana), his sickle cell condition, and his paranoid schizophrenia. These factors were highlighted during the trial through the testimony of the defense’s medical expert.

Raiser summed up, “I’m just glad the jury was able to truly evaluate that as a potential cause of death and that Danny was justified in the actions that he took.”

The case had seen deliberations stall last week, leading Judge Maxwell T. Wiley to dismiss the more severe manslaughter charge on Friday. That charge, if convicted, carried a potential 15-year prison sentence.

This left Penny facing the charge of criminally negligent homicide, which carries no minimum jail time but allows for a sentence of up to four years.

It appears that at least one juror, initially inclined to convict Penny of manslaughter, reconsidered over the weekend. This shift led to Monday’s unanimous not-guilty verdict on the lesser charge.

Despite the criminal case’s resolution, Penny now faces a wrongful death civil lawsuit filed by Neely’s father. In civil cases, the burden of proof—preponderance of the evidence—is lower than the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt required in criminal trials.