The prosecution in the Daniel Penny trial on Friday successfully requested that the top charge, second-degree manslaughter, be dismissed during jury deliberations. The jury will now deliberate on the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide, which holds up to four years behind bars.
Since the manslaughter charge potentially holds a far longer sentence, up to 15 years, the dismissal, at first glance, might seem like a good thing for Penny. But as highlighted by some legal eagles online, and, most importantly, the defense, the state’s request is a desperate move to try to secure some sort of conviction in their extremely weak case.
As highlighted by The Daily Wire, the defense argued Friday that dismissing a harder charge in the midst of jury deliberations that don’t seem to be going your way is setting a dangerous precedent for prosecutors to overcharge defendants, knowing…
