A jury will hear opening arguments in the trial of a veteran accused of dying by suffocation on a subway

NEW YORK — Opening statements are scheduled for Friday in the manslaughter trial of Daniel Penny, a white Marine veteran accused of choking a nervous black subway passenger to death.

An anonymous Manhattan jury is deciding the manslaughter case of Jordan Neely’s 2023 death, which prosecutors are calling a reckless homicide but Penny claims was self-defense. The case raised issues related to race, homelessness, perceptions of public safety and bystander liability.

Penny’s critics see him as a self-proclaimed unarmed man killer who acted erratically and made terrible statements but didn’t attack anyone on a subway car. Supporters credit 25-year-old Penny with taking action to protect frightened subway passengers – an action he said was intended to disarm, not kill.

Demonstrations were organized in both camps, and the issue became absorbed in agitated U.S. politics as Republican officials spoke out on Penny’s behalf and Democratic officials attended Neely’s funeral.

“This is not an easy case where a bad person does something bad,” prosecutor Dafna Yoran told potential jurors during the selection process. While Penny’s intention may have been laudable, she said, “We’re asking you to check whether he went too far.”

Meanwhile, Penny’s attorney, Steven Raiser, said the conviction “will have a chilling effect on every New Yorker’s right and obligation to stand up for themselves.”

Jurors, who were asked about their own subway experiences, will hear opening statements and possibly witness testimony on Friday. It is unclear who the prosecutor’s first witness will be.

His family says Neely’s life was blighted by mental illness and drug use after his mother was murdered and stuffed into a suitcase when he was a teenager. By the age of 30, he would sometimes entertain subway passengers by impersonating Michael Jackson, but he also had a criminal history that included assaulting a woman in a subway station.

Penny, who served in the Marine Corps for four years, said she encountered Neely on the subway on May 1, 2023, as he was walking from college classes to the gym.

According to witnesses, Nee begged for money, shouted that he was ready to die or go to jail and made violent movements. Some were concerned, others were blasé, court records show.

Penny, who stated that Neely was threatening people, put her arm around the man and knocked him to the floor.

Prosecutors wrote in court documents as a witness videotaped part of the encounter, Penny held Neely for about six minutes. The hold continued as the train stopped, many people got off, two other people helped restrain Neely, and another warned Penny, “If you don’t let him out now, you’ll kill him.”

Penny finally released Neely almost a minute after his body went limp, prosecutors said.

“I put it out,” Penny told police. He later added that he simply wanted to “de-escalate” the tense situation and was not trying to hurt Neely, but rather “to stop him from hurting anyone else.”

Local medical examiners determined that Neely died from neck compression. Penny’s lawyers have indicated they plan to challenge the finding.

They tried unsuccessfully to prevent the jury from hearing some of the evidence, including Neely’s lack of a gun and Penny’s statements to detectives at the precinct.

Judge Maxwell Wiley denied both requests. He ruled that Penny was willing to talk to investigators without a lawyer and that the issue of whether Neely was armed – or whether anyone could reasonably believe he was – was relevant.