Judge reveals whether jurors deciding Daniel Pennys fate in NYC subway chokehold case will remain anonymous

Jurors weighing the fate of Daniel Penny in the fatal subway chokehold of Jordan Neely will remain anonymous, a Manhattan judge ruled Thursday — citing months of “threats” made to all parties in the high-profile case.Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Maxwell Wiley said he’d grant a request by prosecutors to conceal the identities of the 12 jurors who will hear evidence in Penny’s trial on charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.Assistant District Attorney Dafna Yoran argued keeping the names hidden would be best “based on prior threats that have been received in this case by all sides.”The move to conceal the jury’s identify would help ease some of the tension in the highly-publicized case and help deliver a “fairer” outcome, she said.“I believe that’s wise,” the judge said about having an anonymous jury, adding that he’s been “made aware” of threats over the last several months.“There’s not just opinions, but very very strong opinions,” Wiley said.“There’s been people who have not been afraid to make threats.”Penny’s attorney, Thomas Kenniff, did not object to the prosecution’s suggestion.Jury selection kicked off Monday, with possible panelists being pre-screened this week to make sure they would be able to sit on the full trial, which is expected to last about six weeks.The judge said he was hoping to have 90 potential jurors in court beginning Friday to begin specific questioning, which is expected to last into early next week.Penny, a former Marine, allegedly fatally choked out Neely, a homeless former Michael Jackson impersonator, on a Manhattan subway car in May 2023 after he said the 30-year-old Neely was ranting in an “insanely threatening” way.Penny, 25, told cops after that he wasn’t trying to kill Neely, but that he was trying to “deescalate the situation.”If convicted on all counts, Penny faces a sentence of up to 19 years in prison....