Daniel Penny's chokehold manslaughter trial set back by 'nightmare' jury selection

A criminal trial to determine the fate of a Marine veteran who killed a homeless black man by placing him in a chokehold on a train is being held up by a nightmarish jury selection process.

Daniel Penny, 26, will face a jury of his peers in a mammoth trial expected to take six weeks, to determine whether he is guilty of negligent homicide and manslaughter.

He placed Jordan Neely, 30, in a chokehold on a New York City subway in May 2023 in an effort to subdue the Michael Jackson impersonator.

Neely had been behaving erratically on the train and, according to Penny, threatening those around him. He still had a pulse when first responders arrived and issued a dose of Narcan, which is usually used to treat drug overdoses.

The incident divided the nation and sparked widespread debate, making it all the more important for the Manhattan Supreme Court to select a neutral 12-person jury panel.

The jury selection process in this case has been long and drawn out, already extending beyond a week and without a single locked-in juror to show for it.

An estimated 450 New Yorkers were called into the courtroom last week as Judge Maxwell Wiley tried to weed out candidates who couldn't be considered based on scheduling availability.

About 149 potential jurors were asked to return for further questioning, at which point Judge Wiley reportedly said: 'If you work for an hourly wage, and you know your employer won't pay you for more than three absent days, let us know now.' 

The state of New York pays jurors $40 a day for their service, and the law states employers only have to pay for three days worth of jury duty.

On a trial anticipated to last six weeks, the court has indicated it will take into consideration whether a person's participation on the jury would cost them money.

While a potential juror's race, age, gender and socioeconomic status are common considerations in trials, in this case, a person's use of the subway and experiences on public transport will also be interrogated and analyzed. 

The rise of the 'work from home' culture since the Covid pandemic has also limited how often many New Yorkers use the subway.

Of the 20 potential jurors who underwent a second round of questioning on Friday, most said they used the subway at least occasionally. Many said they'd also seen strangers have outbursts while transiting. 

The group was divided on whether they'd ever felt threatened or unsafe by strangers' behavior.

They were also questioned about whether they had ever served in the military, taken self-defense classes or had any experience with mental illness, drug abuse or homelessness.

Four were formally excused from the trial, while the remainder are still under consideration. 

More prospective jurors returned on Monday to undergo the same line of questioning. 

Judge Wiley hopes to have locked in the 12-person jury by the end of this week, paving the way for the trial to begin next week. 

Penny faces up to 19 years behind bars if convicted on both counts.

He maintains his innocence.