Lawyer predicts Daniel Penny likely to testify in Jordan Neely drowning trial

Daniel Penny, a 26-year-old veteran architecture student who strangled 30-year-old Jordan Neely to death in a subway car last year, will likely testify in his own defense. at the hearing Soon, according to a New York City defense attorney who has handled similar cases.

Staten Island defense attorney Louis Gelormino told Fox News Digital he often hears jurors want to know why a defendant didn’t testify, even if the judge instructed them they couldn’t use the case against him.

Gelormino is not affiliated with Penny’s case, but he follows the case closely, prosecuting two of the approximately one hundred cases he defends in total under the same judge.

Therefore, he believes that the traditional practice of keeping the defendant away from the witness stand is a poor choice overall. But in a case like Penny’s, where the thought process is vital in legitimizing the action, this is not up for debate.

DANIEL PENNY CASE: SUBWAY CRAZY CLAIMS HE HEARD TUPAC AND THE DEVIL BEFORE HIS FATAL SCREAMING, SHRINK SAYS

Daniel Penny arrives at Manhattan Supreme Court with his mother, Gina Maria Flaim-Penny, on Tuesday, November 19, 2024. Penny, a former Marine, is charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the 2023 death of Jordan Neely. New York City subway train. (Fox News Digital’s Rashid Umar Abbasi)

“In Penny’s case, I think she should take the stand,” Gelormino said. “Because when you put forward an affirmative defense, such as justification, it only goes to Penny’s mind. And the only person who can tell what was going through Penny’s mind at the time of the incident is Penny.”

Penny is charged with involuntary manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in Neely’s death.

Neely was a homeless drug addict suffering from schizophrenia and criminal history This includes attacking an old woman. According to witnesses, in May 2023, he burst into a Manhattan subway car and began making threats.

Sailors who served with DANIEL PENNY WITNESSED IN THE CHOKEHOLD CASE, ANNOUNCED THEIR HUMANITARIAN SERVICE MEDAL

“He said, ‘I don’t care if I have to kill F, I will. I’ll go to jail, I’ll take a bullet,'” an eyewitness said. Fox News Digital last year.

Jordan Neely was photographed in front of the Regal Cinemas at 8th Avenue and 42nd Street in New York’s Times Square in 2009 before going to see Michael Jackson’s “This is It.” (Andrew Savulich/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

He said lawyers for both sides painted a scene for jurors about what happened in that subway car. The prosecution tries to convince them that Penny went too far by carelessly or negligently causing Neely’s death. The defense tries to convince them that their actions were justified and reasonable.

“These types of cases use the justification defense, ‘Yes, I did the alleged act… but it’s not a crime because I was right to do it because of X, Y, and Z.'” Gelormino told Fox News Digital.

He noted that a number of witnesses called to the stand by the prosecution said they were already afraid, thought they were in danger and were worried about their children.

BRAGG’S OFFICE IS WORKING TO SPRESS JORDAN NEELY’S DRUG USE, MARINE VET’S PSYCHIC RECORDINGS FROM DROWNING TRIAL

A screenshot of bystander-shot video of Jordan Neely being strangled on a New York City subway. (Luces de Nueva York/Juan Alberto Vazquez, via Storyful)

“When Perry got on the stand and said, ‘I thought everyone was in danger,’ I assume that’s where the defense wanted to go,” Gelormino said. he said.

Last year, the dead man had two clients who were suspected in a self-defense case when he tried to rob them and was armed with a gun. They were not charged in the Staten Island case, which was handled by a different prosecutor.

But Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office filed charges against Penny 11 days after Neely’s death in May 2023.

JORDAN NEELY STATES THAT HE WAS ‘SCARED’ OF CHOKEHOLD’S SCOUTING AT THE YOUNG WITNESS AND ‘WANTED TO RUN AWAY’

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks with his staff during a news conference on May 30, 2024 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Neely, a homeless man and chronic drug addict with a documented history of serious mental illness and criminal behavior, has been described as a hungry and thirsty former Michael Jackson impersonator. Police didn’t find a gun after his outburst, but they did find a donut in his pocket.

CLICK TO REACH THE FOX NEWS APPLICATION

Penny’s trial will continue on Thursday.

If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison manslaughter charge.

It won’t be long before we know if he’ll take the stand, as the defense is expected to hear its case before Thanksgiving.