Former U.S. Marine Daniel Penny was found not guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the death of Jordan Neely by a jury on Monday, Dec. 9. After deliberating for more than 24 hours over five days, the jury reached the verdict.

Jurors deliberated over whether Penny committed criminally negligent homicide when he put Neely in a chokehold on a New York City subway in May 2023.

The jury had been deadlocked on another charge of manslaughter last week, but at the request of prosecutors on Friday, Dec. 6, Judge Maxwell Wiley dropped the second-degree manslaughter charge and ordered the jury to focus on the lesser charge of negligent homicide.

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Both were felony charges and carried with them years behind bars if Penny were to be convicted.

Prosecutors accused Penny of killing Neely when he placed him in a six-minute chokehold, and the city’s medical examiner said Penny’s chokehold killed Neely.

However, the defense contended Neely died from drug use and a previous medical condition.

Penny’s lawyers said he meant to save subway passengers from Neely, who witnesses say was acting erratically and yelling when he entered the subway.

Prosecutors argued Penny acted with too much force against Neely, who had schizophrenia.

The case has been subject to protests among advocates for a guilty verdict and advocates for a not-guilty verdict.

Fox News reports that before deliberations began on Monday, demonstrators for and against Penny’s acquittal argued outside of the courthouse.

The noise from the protests outside could reportedly be heard inside the courtroom, and Penny’s lawyers argued they could be viewed as threats against the jury, citing statements from protesters like, “If we don’t get no justice, we don’t get no peace.”

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Assistant Manhattan District Attorney Dafna Yoran responded by saying, “There were no threats to the jury.”

Judge Wiley said he would allow the jury to continue deliberations. However, he noted, if there were any more interruptions, he would call both legal teams back to the bench.

Neely’s father told reporters after the verdicts outside the courthouse that he believed the “system is rigged,” but called on everyone upset with the verdict to “help one person,” adding, “that’s how we beat the system.”

Meanwhile, supporters of Penny, like former public defender Maud Maron told Fox News that jurors “got it right” and asserted Penny should have never been facing charges in the first place.