Manhattan grand jury is set to decide on Daniel Penny indictment

A Manhattan grand jury is expected to soon decide whether to indict ex-Marine Daniel Penny over the death of homeless schizophrenic Jordan Neely on a subway.

The panel will have to decide if the former soldier should face second-degree manslaughter charges in a New York City court.

DA Alvin Bragg impaneled the grand jury, who must indict 24-year-old Penny before he is tried on the charge. If convicted, he would face up to 15 years in prison. 

Grand juries typically hand up the indictments that prosecutors are seeking, however, if the jury decides against indictment, DA Bragg will be able to take the political position that his office took the case seriously. 

The critical vote may arrive as early as Wednesday afternoon.

Penny, 24, turned himself in earlier this month after the District Attorney's office announced he would be charged with second-degree manslaughter

Jordan Neely, 30, is placed in a choke hold by a fellow passenger on a subway train on May 1

Penny is currently free on a $100,000 bail. He surrendered himself to law enforcement officers on May 12 - nearly two weeks after the fatal incident occurred.

Attorneys for Penny have argued their client acted in self-defense. Neely, who had previously been arrested some 40 times, was allegedly screaming, yelling and threatening other passengers on the F train, according to eyewitnesses.

Over the weekend, in a video statement, Penny said he was not trying to kill Neely when he grabbed him, but could also not allow himself to remain passive while Neely threatened fellow passengers.

'There's a common misconception that Marines don't get scared. We're actually taught one of our core values is courage, and courage is not the absence of fear but how you handle fear,' he said in a video released on Sunday.

'I was scared for myself but I looked around there was women and children, he was yelling in their faces saying these threats. I just couldn't sit still.'

The confrontation quickly took a turn for the worse when Neely lost consciousness and eventually died.

The medical examiner for the city ruled the death a homicide and said Neely died due to 'compression of the neck.'

Following the troubled homeless man's death, his family leveled blame against authorities for not making sure he was able to get the help he needed.

They've also called for Penny to face murder charges. Penny's next scheduled court date is July 17. 

Penny gave a detailed account of what happened on the subway car. He said: 'The man (Neely) stumbled on, he appeared to be on drugs, the doors closed, and he ripped his jacket off and threw it down at the people sitting next to me at my left.'

He said he took his headphones out from listening to music as he heard Neely yelling in what he deemed a 'scary situation.'

'The three main threats that he repeated over and over again were I'm going to kill you, I'm prepared to go to jail for life and I'm willing to die,' Penny said.

At a certain point, Penny felt he couldn't sit and do nothing any longer, echoing an interview he gave earlier recently, during which he cited a talk at school from author Elie Wiesel. He added that the entire interaction lasted less than five minutes.

Penny further described the encounter, saying: 'You can see in the video there's a clear rise and fall of his chest, indicating that he's breathing. I'm trying to restrain him from being able to carry out the threats.'

Penny, in handcuffs, is escorted by the NYPD after turning himself into the the 5th Precinct in Lower Manhattan last month

A GiveSendGo for Penny's legal fund has raised more than $2.8million

The former Marine also discredited claims his behavior was racist, saying: 'Some people say that this was about race, which is absolutely ridiculous.

'I didn't see a black man threatening passengers. I saw a man threatening passengers, a lot of whom were people of color.

'A man who restrained Mr. Neely was a person of color.

'And then a few days after the incident, I read in the papers that a woman of color came out and called me a hero.'

Penny also thanked those who have contributed to his legal fund through GiveSendGo. The campaign has raised over $2.83million as of Sunday night.

'I was working two jobs as a student. My family doesn't come from money so I'm incredibly thankful for this fund and all the people who have supported me,' Penny said.