The incident occurred in May 2023. The homeless man, Jordan Neely, got on a subway train and shouted things that could be perceived as threatening, such as that he was not afraid of going to jail.
The ex-soldier, Daniel Penny, intervened by grabbing Neely by the throat and holding Neely down on the floor of the carriage. The police then took him to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The case has attracted a lot of attention and divided opinion, partly along political lines. Prominent Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has called Penny a murderer, while Vice President-elect JD Vance said he shouldn’t have been charged at all.
Parallels have also been drawn to the death of George Floyd in 2020, as Penny is white and Neely was black. Demonstrations for and against a conviction were held outside while the trial was underway.
As early as Friday, it was clear that Penny would not be convicted of murder, as the jury could not agree. On Monday, the news came that he was also acquitted of causing the death of another.
According to the doctor who performed Neely’s autopsy, there is no doubt that it was strangulation that killed him, but Penny’s lawyers argued that it could be a combination of strangulation, medications, marijuana and schizophrenia.
Neely’s father will now pursue the matter further in a civil case against Penny.