Legal scholar Alvin Bragg expresses surprise over Daniel Penny acquittal, stating that it was not how he had planned the outcome.

George Washington Law professor Jonathan Turley stated that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is likely the most surprised by ex-Marine Daniel Penny's "not guilty" verdict.

"The acquittal was not anticipated because it was not what District Attorney Bragg had planned, as stated by a constitutional scholar on "The Faulkner Focus" on Monday."

Bragg's strategy was to force a compromise verdict by design. When the jury deadlocked over the more serious crime, the judge allowed them to consider a lesser offense. Bragg hoped that if he could not get a conviction on the more serious crime, which was unlikely, they would come back and compromise and convict him on the lesser offense, which still came with a potential penalty of four years.

"Alvin Bragg may be the most surprised person in the room because the jury couldn't agree on the more serious offense, but then they came back and said they agree that he's not guilty of the lesser offense, which is not how he expected it to play out."

On Friday, Judge Maxwell Wiley granted the prosecution's motion to dismiss the more serious second-degree manslaughter charge against Penny, who was acquitted of the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide in the chokehold death case days after two failed attempts to reach a unanimous verdict on the manslaughter charge.

The move by legal experts predicted a conviction on the lesser charge, intensifying the surprise of the jury's verdict.

Penny's critics speculated that Bragg's actions were politically motivated.

Turley stated that it would be challenging for Alvin Bragg to bring another case for a more serious offense because the jury has already declared him not guilty of the lesser offense, and the standard for criminal negligence is considered very light by many criminal defense attorneys. According to Turley, it only takes a little effort to meet this standard.

"If he couldn't prove his case on that, it would be particularly outrageous for him to pursue any further prosecution. I don't anticipate that."

Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man with schizophrenia, barged onto a New York City subway, shouting death threats while high on K2, and Penny was accused of both charges.

In the courtroom, Neely's father was present when the verdict was read and was subsequently escorted out after being accused of snapping.

The trial outcome has caused Black Lives Matter activists to become enraged and threaten to stage a protest.

Planet Chronicle' Michael Ruiz and Grace Taggart contributed to this report.