Daniel Penny, the Marine veteran charged with putting Jordan Neely in a fatal chokehold on the subway last year, returned to court Thursday for a pretrial hearing.
The purpose of the hearing was to sort out what evidence will be presented at trial -- including new video of what happened after the incident.
Penny, 25, is charged with manslaughter and negligent homicide in the murder of Jordan Neely on board an F train in May of last year after the deadly chokehold was captured on cellphone video by two tourists.
Penny's lawyers say he acted in self-defense after Neely, who suffered from mental health issues, started displaying what some described as aggressive behavior.
Penny's lawyers say Neely had a psychiatric history of mental illness, didn't take his medicine, and was known to scare passengers. The prosecution will argue Neely needed help, the system failed him, and the Marine veteran used excessive force.
During Thursday's pretrial hearing, the court heard evidence from both sides.
The cellphone video from the incident went viral and was widely seen -- but the other video evidence the jury might see in the trial could make or break the case for both the prosecution and defense.
Prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney's office played video of Penny being interviewed by NYPD detectives at the 5th Precinct in Chinatown.
Throughout the video he was calm, and matter of fact, as he explained what happened. He can be heard saying, "I'm not trying to kill the guy, I'm just trying to deescalate the situation."
The two detectives clearly tried to get a better grasp of the incident and asked what he was thinking.
"This guy was actually threatening. He said he wanted to go to prison forever," Penny said in the interview.
During the videotaped interview, Penny went over what happened several times and twice demonstrated the grip he had around Neely's neck and explained his decision to wrap his legs around him saying, "He starts to squirm, I hold him a little tighter."
Prosecutors also showed several body-worn cameras from the responding officers. In the video, Penny is standing around and at one point he was asked if Neely had a gun and he responded, "I don't know, I just put him out."
The Manhattan District Attorney wants the jury to see the videos to hear Penny's initial comments, but his defense said he was being treated as a witness at the time and they want them out.
The judge is expected to issue a ruling by the end of the day on Friday.
The trial is scheduled to begin October 8 and jury selection starts on Oct. 21. If convicted, Penny faces up to 20 years in prison.
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