Daniel Penny's manslaughter charge dropped as jury fails to reach a verdict - but ex-Marine still faces four years in jail after judge refuses to call a mistrial | 6 Dec 2024 | Daniel Penny is one step closer to freedom after a judge dismissed the top manslaughter charge against him on Friday -- but he must return to court next week to face lesser charges. Penny, a young Marine veteran, was charged with manslaughter for stepping in when Neely, a mentally ill homeless man, threatened subway passengers on an F train on an early summer afternoon in New York City in May 2023... The jury of 12 New Yorkers were forensic with the evidence, poring over testimony transcripts and watching bodycam footage from the day in question multiple times. But today, they announced they had failed to come to a unanimous verdict for a second time on the key charge of second degree manslaughter. They had deliberated for four days. Rather than declaring a mistrial, the judge agreed to an unorthodox request from the prosecution -- the top charge was dropped, and the jury has been told to come back next week to focus on count two: criminally negligent homicide.