Jordan Neely suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and heard voices, a forensic psychiatrist testified on Tuesday during the trial of Marine veteran Daniel Penny.
Penny’s defense called forensic psychiatrist Dr. Alexander Bardey to the stand on Tuesday after the prosecution attempted to keep the doctor from testifying. Bardey reviewed thousands of pages of Neely’s medical records dating back to 2015, Fox News reported, and told jurors that Neely had been hospitalized more than a dozen times for psychotic episodes and for abusing synthetic marijuana.
Bardey testified that Neely had delusions that deceased rapper and actor Tupac Shakur – who has been dead for nearly 30 years, was using him to “change the world.” Neely also heard the “devil’s voice.”
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The defense also called to the stand two Marine sergeants who served with Penny. Nolan Drylie, Penny’s former platoon sergeant, explained that Penny had received a Humanitarian Service Medal for his work during the recovery effort following Hurricane Florence in 2018, WFIN reported. Gunnery Sgt. Nathaniel Dunchie also testified that “discrimination is not tolerated in the Marine Corps,” referring to the prosecution’s claim there is a racial element to Penny placing Neely in a chokehold. Dunchie testified that Penny was an honest man with integrity.
The prosecution rested on Monday after New York medical examiner Dr. Cynthia Harris testified for the third day. Harris testified that Neely died from Penny’s chokehold and that the chokehold caused his death even with the amount of drugs in Neely’s system.
Penny faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of manslaughter or up to 4 years if he’s convicted on the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide in Neely’s death.
Multiple witnesses have testified that they were afraid of Neely, who entered the subway train car and allegedly began ranting that someone was going to die and he didn’t care if he went back to jail. These witnesses have said they feared for their lives, with some even thanking Penny for stepping in, The Daily Wire reported.