Jurors returned to the court room on the fourth day of deliberations in the Daniel Penny case. But it's not the answer that either side wanted to hear.
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Jurors returned to deliberations for the fourth day. Just an hour later, they returned and told the court that they couldn't come to an agreement on whether it was manslaughter or not. Authorities accused Penny of killing a mentally ill homeless man after putting him in a chokehold on a New York subway car.
The jurors stated in the Penny case, "We the jury request instructions from Judge [Maxwell] Wiley. At this time, we are unable to come to a unanimous vote on count 1 - manslaughter in the second degree."
Prosecutors had to prove that Penny acted with recklessness when he put homeless man Jordan Neely in a chokehold. Penny grappled Neely after the homeless man, high on drugs, appeared in the train car and threatened the lives of other passengers.
Daniel Penny Trial
"In this case, I think that they can't move on to count 2 unless they find the defendant not guilty of count 1," Wiley told attorneys. "I have to at least try to ask the jury to find a verdict on count 1."
Penny faces a count two of criminally negligent homicide. It carries a maximum of four years in prison. Wiley announced that he would give jurors Alleng charge instructions. Allen charge instructions urge jurors to agree on a verdict to avoid a hung jury. They're a bit controversial as some see it as pressuring a jury for an answer.
Meanwhile, Penny's defense is asking for a mistrial. But Wiley is giving jurors more time to reach a verdict.
"You've been a very good jury, and there's no reason to think that any other jury in a future trial will be any more intelligent or fair than you are," he said. But he asked them not to violate their consciences either. "Given the factual complexity of the case, I don't think it's been too long."
The jury is continuing to weigh the case with Wiley's new instructions.
"A deadlocked jury on the top charge is not a victory for the defendant in a case that should never have been brought to begin with," siad Paul Mauro, a former NYPD inspector. "Daniel Penny is a young man spending thousands on attorneys, he faces a civil case, and a district attorney's office that has chosen ideology over law enforcement may well retry him if we get a mistrial. His liberty remains at risk. This is not justice."
