A jury of 12 New Yorkers is currently deliberating the legal fate of Daniel Penny, a former U.S. Marine accused of putting a homeless man in a fatal chokehold for six minutes on a New York subway.

Mr. Penny, 26, faced a month-long trial in a Manhattan courtroom after pleading not guilty to second-degree manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter.

Prosecutors have described Mr. Penny as reckless when he restrained 30-year-old Jordan Neely, while Mr. Penny’s lawyers claim he intervened to protect fearful subway riders.

After prosecutors completed their closing arguments Tuesday, the judge read instructions to the jury for about an hour before sending them off to reach a verdict.

Mr. Penny’s trial has reignited conversations about public transit safety in the largest U.S. city and how the local government cares for its residents struggling with homelessness and mental health issues.

On Monday, Steven Raiser, Mr. Penny’s lawyer, asked jurors to put themselves in Mr. Penny’s shoes, saying he and other subway passengers had “very little room” to move or run , when Neely’s temper tantrum began.

“Danny acted to save these people,” Mr. Raiser said. “Who do you want to take with you on the next train ride?”

Meanwhile, Assistant District Attorney Dafna Yoran told jurors the defendant “used far too much force for far too long and in far too reckless a manner.”

“The defendant was given all the signs he needed to stop. He ignored them and continued until a man died. He must be held accountable for this,” Ms Yoran said on Tuesday.

Mr. Penny could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted of manslaughter.

The May 2023 incident quickly became a political flashpoint. Conservatives praised Mr. Penny as a hero and critics, including civil rights activists, said he acted as an unwarranted vigilante when he killed Neely, who was black.

On May 1, witnesses said Neely – who was living with severe mental illness – began yelling at other subway passengers, asking for money and screaming that he was hungry and wanted to go back to prison.

Mr. Penny’s lawyers say the Long Island native intervened out of fear that Neely would hurt other passengers and held him for several minutes until he lost consciousness.

Mr. Penny’s month-long trial produced a variety of evidence, including bystander videos of the chokehold, 911 calls and police body camera footage, and statements from witnesses and people from Mr. Penny’s past.

Mr. Penny refused to testify at the trial, but the 12 anonymous New York jurors heard from the police who responded to the incident and from subway passengers who witnessed the events.

Their testimony was divided: some said they felt threatened by Neely’s erratic behavior, others were concerned about Mr. Penny’s chokehold.

“I truly believed I was going to die at that moment,” said Caedryn Schrunk, a witness on the New York F train that day.

Another man, Johnny Grima, said that Mr. Penny would not allow him to intervene when he asked that Neely be placed on his side instead of putting him in a chokehold.

“I’m worried about the man because he’s not moving,” Mr Grima told the court.

During the trial, prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office did not dispute Mr. Penny’s desire to protect other passengers. Ms. Yoran said in her opening remarks that this motivation was “even commendable.”

“But under the law, deadly physical force such as a chokehold is permitted only when absolutely necessary and only for as long as it is absolutely necessary,” she said. “The defendant went far too far.”

Prosecutors also argued that as a former Marine, Mr. Penny should have been aware that the chokehold could kill Neely – and that he could have used less lethal methods to restrain him.

Mr. Penny’s lawyers suggested that factors other than the chokehold could have been responsible for Neely’s death, including a combination of drug use, schizophrenia and sickle cell anemia. They cited the testimony of a forensic pathologist they had called in as an expert witness.

A medical examiner ruled that Neely died of neck compression, a finding she maintained throughout the trial.

Neely was a Michael Jackson impersonator who performed in Times Square and was known throughout the city for his performances.

He has already had dozens of arrests for tax evasion, theft and assaulting three women.

Family members said his mental health problems began more than 15 years ago when his mother was strangled by her boyfriend.