Daniel Penny Thought He Was Protecting a Diverse Subway Car, but Prosecutors Highlight Racial Undertones

Many of the subway-riding witnesses to Jordan Neely’s death, especially female ones, have testified at trial that his aggressive behavior scared them beyond the usual outbursts one might see from a mentally disturbed person on New York City’s rail system as he shouted death threats and lunged at people before Daniel Penny put him in a choke hold.

But prosecutors are painting Penny as a vigilante who went too far while hinting at racial undertones that the defense says show an unfair bias against their client, who has not been accused of a hate crime or of intentionally killing anyone.

Although numerous women on the train testified that Neely’s raving scared and worried them, and that they believed Penny’s intervention was helpful, the defense took issue with testimony from a man who didn’t witness the start of the altercation but repeatedly called Penny a “murderer” and “abuser” from the witness stand.

“The women passengers have been good witnesses for the defense,” said Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor. “They testified that Neely threatened to kill, and they were terrified for themselves and their children. They were also grateful and relieved Penny intervened to protect them.”

Judge Maxwell Wiley denied defense attorney Thomas Kenniff’s motion to declare a mistrial on Thursday despite his concerns of “bias” from the witness and the prosecutors in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s Office.

Kenniff described Neely as an “unhinged nutjob” and is arguing that Penny’s actions were justified defense of himself and other passengers on the car. Wiley rejected the mistrial but told Kenniff, “I see what you’re getting at.”

Wiley has a reputation for being fair to all sides, according to Louis Gelormino, a Staten Island-based defense attorney who told Fox News Digital he’s tried homicide cases in front of the judge.

{snip}

“It seems like the prosecutors are trying to paint him as a racist,” he said. “That’s the biggest argument from the defense … combined with Grima’s testimony. It’s right at the line.”

The defense argued that Penny is not getting a fair trial and raised a number of objections, saying the prosecution was trying to paint Penny as a “White vigilante” and improperly allowed witness Johnny Grima, a homeless man with a conviction for bashing someone with a bat, to call the defendant a “murderer” from the witness stand when he has not been accused of murder.

{snip}

“That’s the point of the defense: This isn’t a hate crime,” Gelormino said. “This isn’t a racial issue. Nobody’s declared it a racial issue.”

At least not officially, but Kenniff pointed out in court that Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Danfa Yoran, in opening statements, hinted at a racial undertone by alleging that Penny “didn’t recognize Mr. Neely’s humanity.” Another prosecutor allowed a witness to repeatedly refer to Penny as “the White man.”

{snip}