Top Lawyer Slams Daniel Penny Judge for ‘Miscarriage of Justice’ Over Shock Courtroom Move

Daniel Penny is one step closer to freedom after a judge dismissed the top manslaughter charge against him on Friday – but he must return to court next week to face lesser charges.

Penny, a Marine veteran, was charged with manslaughter for stepping in when Jordan Neely, a mentally ill homeless man, threatened subway passengers on an F train in New York City in May 2023.

The 24-year-old placed Neely, 30, in a chokehold on the train car floor, holding him there until police arrived. The subway performer known for his Michael Jackson impersonations was declared dead in the hospital and Penny was then charged.

He was vilified as a racist vigilante and lampooned by liberals. But many others took his side, heralding him a hero of a lawless city who did what no one else was prepared to do.

The jury of 12 New Yorkers were forensic with the evidence, poring over testimony transcripts and watching bodycam footage from the day in question multiple times.

But today, they announced they had failed to come to a unanimous verdict for a second time on the key charge of second degree manslaughter. They had deliberated for four days.

Rather than declaring a mistrial, the judge agreed to an unorthodox request from the prosecution – the top charge was dropped, and the jury has been told to come back next week to focus on count two: criminally negligent homicide. Pen

A criminal defense attorney has blasted the move by Judge Maxwell Wiley to dismiss the manslaughter charge against Daniel Penny as being a ‘miscarriage of justice’.

New York based lawyer Jonna Spilbor told DailyMail.com that the legal move had robbed Penny of having a chance of being exonerated.

She said: ‘The judge’s decision to let prosecutors dismiss the manslaughter charge and force the jury to deliberate on criminal negligence after a deadlock is a blatant miscarriage of justice.

‘It effectively takes an acquittal off the table, robbing Daniel Penny of a fair shot at being fully exonerated.

‘A hung jury means the prosecution failed to meet its burden of proof on the top count. And here, the jury was specifically instructed it was only permitted to find Penny guilty of one or the other, if at all.

Spilbor continued: ‘This isn’t justice—it’s a tactical maneuver that undermines the jury’s role and the principle of reasonable doubt.

‘Justice is about fairness, not helping prosecutors save face after a failed case, a case that never should have been brought at all.

‘If Penny is convicted of anything, the “city that never sleeps” will quickly become a city of sitting ducks.’