Daniel Penny's Legal Team Countersues Jordan Neely's Father

Following his acquittal in the criminal case surrounding the death of Jordan Neely, Daniel Penny's legal team has filed a countersuit against Neely's father, Andre Zachery. The countersuit seeks to dismiss the civil lawsuit filed by Zachery and demands that he cover Penny's legal costs.

Penny was acquitted of criminally negligent homicide in the death of Neely, a homeless man who died after being placed in a chokehold by Penny on a Manhattan subway car. Neely had been experiencing a mental health crisis and was threatening passengers with a knife.

In the countersuit, Penny's attorneys argue that Zachery's lawsuit is "ill-conceived" and that any injuries sustained by Neely were caused by his own actions. They also point to the successful defense of Penny in the criminal case, which they say underscores New Yorkers' belief in their right to self-defense.

Zachery's lawyer has not yet responded to a request for comment.

The countersuit comes a month after Penny's acquittal in a high-profile and controversial manslaughter trial. Prosecutors asked the court to dismiss the top charge of manslaughter to avoid a hung jury, and jurors ultimately found Penny not guilty of the lesser charge.

Penny, a 26-year-old Marine veteran and architecture student, was charged for the subway chokehold death of Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man with schizophrenia who barged onto the train shouting death threats while high on a type of synthetic marijuana known as K2.

Neely had a lengthy criminal history, an active arrest warrant, a history of psychosis, and was high on K2 at the time of the incident.

Subway crime has plagued the city in recent years, and there was an atmosphere of fear among riders. Just days before the incident, a straphanger had been stabbed with an ice pick on a J train.

In that climate of fear, witnesses said they were terrified by Neely, who shouted death threats at them.

Legal experts have predicted that Neely's family may fare better in civil court, where there is a lower standard of guilt. Prosecutors have to convince jurors of criminal charges beyond "reasonable doubt." In a civil case, the plaintiff's attorneys must prove their case based on a "preponderance of evidence," more likely true than not.