Attorney Speaks Out, Patrons Celebrate Daniel Penny At NYC Bar After Acquittal

 Alongside his attorneys, U.S. Marine veteran Daniel Penny celebrated his acquittal Monday afternoon at a bar in Manhattan while surrounded by security.

Penny, 26, was on trial for the death of Jordan Neely, whom Penny restrained on the NYC subway last year after witnesses said Neely threatened passengers.

Photos taken by the New York Post show Penny smiling inside the bar, flanked by his attorneys, Thomas Kenniff and Steven Raiser. The images show smiling patrons whipping out their phones to take photos of Penny.

Penny did not speak to reporters other than to respond that he was doing “great” after the verdict.

During the trial, Penny showed little emotion. However, at one point, he disapprovingly shook his head as the prosecution suggested he was racist. He also reportedly locked eyes with jurors after the not guilty verdict was read, giving a smile and a nod.

Kenniff told reporters on Monday that Penny would now try to “get his life back together” after the long ordeal.

“A situation like this, we savor the victory but all the harm that has been done to him just doesn’t vanish,” the attorney said. “That’s true of anyone who is falsely accused.”

 

Kenniff said he wasn’t surprised by the verdict since his client is innocent but said the process was filled with anxiety.

“I’m not surprised in the sense that Day 1 we knew that we believed he would be exonerated because the evidence overwhelmingly supported that,” he said, the Post reported. “When you’re in the midst of it, five days of deliberation, it would be inhuman not to be nervous, not to have anxiety. Were we surprised by how it came down, when it came down, the moment it came down? Sure. But were we surprised by the result? No.”

Last week, Judge Maxwell Wiley controversially agreed with the prosecution’s request to dismiss the state’s top charge of second-degree manslaughter, which carries up to 15 years behind bars, in the middle of jury deliberations. This left only the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide for the jury to deliberate on Monday. It took the jury about one hour before it returned to the courtroom with the not guilty verdict. 

When the verdict was read, Neely’s father, Andre Zachery, glared at someone who applauded and said, “Are you trying to f***ing get killed?” Additionally, Hawk Newsome, a co-founder of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York, said while looking at Penny, “It’s a small world, buddy.”

Moreover, outside the courthouse on Monday, Newsome called for “black vigilantes” to act, The Daily Wire highlighted.