Jurors in Daniel Penny case deadlock twice, judge dismisses manslaughter charge

The judge in the Daniel Penny chokehold trial granted a motion to dismiss a manslaughter charge after the jury said twice on Friday they cannot agree on the charge.

Penny, a 26-year-old Marine veteran, has been accused of fatally chocking a mentally ill homeless man who was threatening to kill riders on a subway car in New York City. Friday marked the fourth day of jury deliberations. 

"We the jury request instructions from Judge [Maxwell] Wiley. At this time, we are unable to come to a unanimous vote on court 1 – manslaughter in the second degree," read a note that the jurors reportedly sent to the court around 11 a.m.

The jurors sent a second deadlock note roughly three hours later, per CNN, and Wiley granted a motion to dismiss the second-degree manslaughter charge. A second lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide still remains.

Jurors were dismissed for the day, after Wiley approved the motion, but they will return on Monday morning to deliberate over the homicide charge. If convicted, Penny faces up to four years in prison.