Daniel Penny trial enters closing arguments in Jordan Neely's subway chokehold death
NEW YORK -- The courtroom was packed Monday for closing arguments in the trial of Daniel Penny, the Marine veteran charged in the chokehold death of Jordan Neely on board a subway last year.
The Medical Examiner's Office ruled Neely's death compression of the neck, but a defense expert said it was due to a combination of sickle cell crisis, schizophrenia, the struggle and restraint, and synthetic marijuana.
Penny has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. If found guilty, he faces up to 15 years in prison. He does not face a minimum sentence.
Defense calls Manhattan DA's case "a leap too far"
There was a 90-minute delay to the start of the defense proceedings Monday morning due to technical issues. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was in the courtroom after lunch for the first time during the trial, but missed the morning when the defense questioned why his office brought the charges and called the case "a leap too far."
Defense attorneys told the jury "This was not a chokehold death," and called the charges against Penny a "rush to judgment" by the DA's office. They argued that media attention and protesters demanding an arrest seemed to be the motivation behind it. They also alleged it was the motivation behind the medical examiner issuing the cause of death "compression of the neck" without having the results back from various testing, like toxicology, anthropology and histology.
Defense says Penny's actions "simple civilian restraint"
Defense attorney Steven Raiser asked jurors to "imagine for a moment you're on that train, too" in a confined space when an erratic threatening Neely enters. Raiser said Penny "had something the others didn't, something unique to him, his training. Danny acted to save those people" not knowing whether Neely was armed or not.
The defense called the chokehold "simple civilian restraint," adding that Penny's purpose was "never to render him unconscious and never to try and hurt him."
The defense said Penny told police in a voluntary stationhouse interview he was holding Neely until police arrived. It took the NYPD more than seven minutes to get there and it took 20 minutes for EMS to arrive.
During that interview, defense attorneys say Penny did not know Neely had died and seemingly believed Neely was being treated for drugs.
Raiser said when the medical examiner took the stand, she testified while watching video of the incident that she couldn't say how much pressure Penny was applying. He told the jury if the prosecution's own experts have doubt, "Why shouldn't you?"
"They failed to prove their case, period," Raiser added.
The defense said the death of Neely was "unfortunate, tragic, but not foreseeable." They asked the jury, "Who would you want on the next train ride with you -- the guy on the train with the earbuds minding his own business?"
Prosecution focuses on Penny's use of "reckless" force
Prosecutors began their closing arguments by repeating what they said during their opening -- that Penny had good intentions but the "defendant used way too much force for way too long in way too reckless of a manner," and added that Penny "could easily have restrained him without choking him to death."
They told the jury Penny continued to hold Neely even after the train pulled into the station and passengers got off.
"Holding someone for police does not justify the use of deadly force," they said.
They argued Penny saw responding officers trying to revive Neely, and added the Marine veteran was "clearly aware" of what he had done.
Prosecutors plan to wrap Tuesday and then the judge will instruct the jury and the members will begin deliberations.
Testimony in the Daniel Penny trial
Jurors heard testimony from subway passengers who witnessed the chokehold, police who responded, a Marine Corps instructor who taught Penny chokehold techniques and Penny's relatives and friends.
The Marine veteran himself did not testify. His lawyers say he was trying to protect others, and that Neely was threatening passengers and acting erratically.
The chokehold death sparked protests and debate over how the city responds to mental health emergencies. CBS News New York learned Neely had agreed to out-patient mental health treatment as part of a plea deal from a prior arrest but left the program within weeks.
