Daniel penny beamed on monday as he and his lawyers relaxed their ties and celebrated a not guilty verdict after being acquitted in the chokehold death of jordan neely, who had threatened to kill subway riders as the 26-year-old Marine veteran kidnapped him behind.

Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man who was high on synthetic marijuana and suffering from schizophrenia, later lost consciousness and died himself when witnesses said he stormed the car and began screaming that someone was dying.

Attorney Thomas Kenniff, who was spotted at the Stone Street Tavern in Lower Manhattan on Monday, said he was not surprised by the verdict.

“We think this probably should have happened on day one, but the important thing is that it happened,” he told a camera from The Associated Press after Penny smiled but turned away without saying a word. “We can’t control the timing, but you can definitely enjoy the result.”

DANIEL PENNY FOUND NOT GUILTY IN SUBWAY STRANGLEHOLD TRIAL

Daniel Penny (center) poses for a photo as he gathers at a bar with his attorneys Steven Raiser (left) and Thomas Kenniff after being acquitted of involuntary manslaughter on Monday, December 9, 2024, in New York City. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz)

Jurors found Penny not guilty Monday after a contentious week-long trial. Critics called it a politically motivated prosecution, particularly after Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Dafna Yoran appeared to repeatedly convey racist undertones in a case that did not involve hate crime allegations.

Prosecutors portrayed Neely, a Black man, as a man in need of help and alleged that Penny, a white architecture student who they said was right to intervene, went too far by keeping him in a chokehold for too long. Witnesses said that Neely’s erratic behavior frightened them and that they were grateful for Penny’s intervention.

DANIEL PENNY RETURNS TO COURT TO COMPLETE PLEAS IN SUBWAY STRANGLEHOLD TRIAL

WATCH: Daniel Penny’s lawyers react after his acquittal in the death of Jordan Neely

The jury ultimately found him not guilty of involuntary manslaughter. They disagreed on the more serious charge of manslaughter, and the judge granted the prosecution’s request to dismiss the charge entirely.

“He is not guilty for a variety of reasons – because his actions were justified. He was trying to help the people on that train,” said Steven Raiser, Penny’s other defense attorney. “And he did. And No. 2: He is not responsible for the death because the death was caused by many other factors that we have tried to present with great clarity, such as the K2 abuse and the sickle cell crisis and and and.” Heart problems, not to mention paranoid schizophrenia.

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Penny, a Marine veteran who received a humanitarian award for helping hurricane victims, is from Long Island and was described by friends as calm and compassionate during her testimony. As a teenager, he played lacrosse and was in his school’s orchestra. After his honorable discharge, he worked two jobs while studying architecture at New York City College of Technology.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.