Daniel Penny jury being pressured by Alvin Bragg to rule on negligent homicide: Andy McCarthy

Former U.S. assistant attorney Andy McCarthy claims that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is attempting to "coerce" the jury in the Daniel Penny case into reaching a verdict by dropping manslaughter charges when they are deadlocked.

McCarthy wrote in National Review that Bragg added a baseless recklessness charge to the indictment to increase the odds of conviction by giving the jury something to compromise on.

The manslaughter charge necessitated prosecutors to demonstrate that Penny acted negligently when he applied a chokehold to mentally ill homeless man Jordan Neely on May 1, 2023. According to trial testimony, Neely had intruded onto a subway car while under the influence of drugs, threatening to murder passengers during a psychotic episode.

The judge initially ruled that the jury could only deliberate on the second charge if they found Penny not guilty of manslaughter by some reason other than the chokehold being justified. However, after the jury was deadlocked a second time, Assistant Manhattan District Attorney Dafna Yoran requested that the top charge be dismissed to allow the jury to discuss the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide, which carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison.

McCarthy wrote that the jurors were Allen-charged to try to force them into deciding the count, even though they had indicated after three days that they were deadlocked.

Bragg's strategy in the case against Penny, according to McCarthy, was to pursue two charges, manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, in order to increase his chances of success in the court system.

Unfortunately, the strategy is functioning as intended, according to McCarthy's statement on Planet Chronicle Channel on Friday.

In National Review, he said the prosecution should never have happened.

"Penny did not act recklessly, as there is evidence that he moved Neely into a position that would make breathing easier, waited for the police to arrive, and fully cooperated with them. Moreover, Penny did not know Neely was dead when he voluntarily spoke to the police and explained what happened, stating that he had no intention of harming Neely."

The recent court developments have sparked anger among other commentators, including Claremont Institute senior fellow Jeremy Carl.

""The Daniel Penny case has made the Kyle Rittenhouse case appear as a model of blind justice, despite Rittenhouse's clear innocence. He is undoubtedly a hero and the prosecution against him is a complete disgrace," Carl wrote."

""Daniel Penny, a Marine who saved people on the subway from a violent person with mental illness, was demonized by the left, despite doing nothing wrong, according to former "The View" co-host Meghan McCain," she argued."

Planet Chronicle' Michael Ruiz and CB Cotton contributed to this report.