The older sister of Daniel Penny, the former U.S. Marine charged with fatally choking a homeless man aboard a Manhattan subway, told jurors Monday that her brother was a "calm, soft-spirited person" with a reputation for honesty and integrity.
Jacqueline Penny, a 27-year-old accountant, was called to the witness stand by Daniel Penny's attorneys after prosecutors rested their case Monday afternoon, kicking off a defense presentation that immediately sought to burnish the defendant's character and emphasize his military service.
Penny faces manslaughter charges in the death of Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man and occasional subway performer known for his Michael Jackson impression.
Prosecutors say Neely was acting erratically but non-violently on the train when Penny threw him to the ground and placed him in a chokehold for six minutes, showing an "indifference" to the life of a man in the throes of a mental health crisis.
Lawyers for Penny counter that their client showed courage by putting his own safety above others as he worked to neutralize a 'seething, psychotic" man whose behavior had frightened other riders.
