Opening Statements in Daniel Perry’s Manslaughter Trial Began

Daniel Perry, a former Marine, was attending architecture school at the time of the unfortunate death of Jordan Neely. Perry was working two jobs to pay for college. He was in court this week for opening statements in his manslaughter trial. Perry tried to protect people on a train, and it ended in Neely’s accidental death.

The deceased man, Jordan Neely, was a violent, deranged man with multiple arrests.

The prosecutors and media want Daniel Perry convicted and keep saying he put Neely in an illegal chokehold. Perry was only trying to restrain him, and two other men helped. They are minorities and were not charged.

Protesters outside the courtroom demanded Perry be convicted.

No one will ever again want to be a good Samaritan in New York City.

Fox News

Prosecution

Inside the courtroom, prosecutors delivered their remarks first, conceding that Neely “scared many of the people” on the train where he died.

“Jordan Neely took his last breaths on the dirty floor of an uptown F train – at the time he died, he was 30 years old, homeless, on synthetic drugs, and suffering from mental illness,” Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Dafna Yoran began.

He put himself there.

Prosecutors, in a 45-minute opening statement, said Penny maintained the chokehold for 5 minutes and 53 seconds, calling the move “unnecessarily reckless.”

The Defense Attorney

“As the doors seal shut, and the train goes towards the dark tunnel, Neely slams his jacket on the ground with such force that the train falls silent,” Penny’s defense continued. “He demands drinks, food, and money. He tells passengers that if they don’t give them what he wants, he is going to take it from them.”

Neely raised his voice, ranting about going back to the Rikers Island jail and getting a life prison sentence, He said he was ready to die, the defense continued.

“Passengers begin flooding towards the far end of the subway car, Neely sets his sights on a group of female passengers, [and] at that moment Danny sees a mother barricading her son behind a baby stroller,” the lawyers said. “Neely utters the words, ‘I will kill,’ and, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, when Jordan Neely threatened to kill, there was only one thing Danny Penny could do.”

After Neely announced the threat, there was no time to “de-escalate the situation,” they said. Penny acted defensively to take down the madman.

“Danny’s intent is not to kill Mr. Neely. In fact, he did not want to hurt him at all,” the defense continued. “The evidence will show that Danny made every conscious effort to avoid harm.

Penny used what the defense described as a “non-fatal chokehold” he had been trained to use.

Jordan Neely had a pulse when police arrived but was not breathing. They administered Narcan but failed to revive him.

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