Maybe Daniel "The White Man" Penny will get off.
It wasn't a chokehold that killed Jordan Neely.
That was the testimony of forensic pathologist Dr. Satish Chundru for the defense -- and he was pretty damn convincing.
Or at least effective at sowing reasonable doubt that Daniel Penny's maneuver caused Neely's death on an uptown F train on May 1, 2023.
On the stand, Chundru calmly and confidently explained why city medical examiner Dr. Cynthia Harris was wrong in declaring that Neely died of the chokehold.
Chundru, who had previously worked as a medical examiner in both Austin and Miami, called her findings, "speculative." He added that it was "shocking" they rendered their ruling in only two days.
Harris came to her conclusion before the toxicology report came back, saying even if it turned out that Neely had enough fentanyl in him "to put down an elephant" she still would have stuck with her original decision.
Chundru was simple and straightforward in his explanation: A chokehold death is basically a two part process.
"Phase one is unconsciousness; you have to put enough consistent pressure to render the person unconscious," Chundru said. "Phase two is you have to sustain that pressure for an extended period of time that leads to death."
Chundru said Neely had already expired or was going through the dying process when he went limp. Prosecutors say Penny held Neely in a chokehold for 51 seconds after he passed out.
But Chundru said, "Neely never went unconscious before that, which is what you need if it's a chokehold death."
So what did kill him? Chundru said it was the "combined effects" of synthetic marijuana otherwise known as K2, schizophrenia, his struggle and restraint, and sickle cell crisis, an often painful and distressing event, where cells change shape and block blood vessels.
Jordan Neely, was a homeless man with a history of drug use and mental illness.
...
But after a morning of discussing of blood chokes, air chokes and arteries, the prosecution went straight for Chundru's jugular during a combative cross examination.
Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Dafna Yoran tried to paint him as a less than discerning hired gun who performed far too many autopsies and earned loads of money for his services. She pointed out that he is regularly hired by defense attorneys to refute the prosecution. (He said it was about 60 percent of the cases he took on).
Chundru was unapologetic saying he worked hard and added that his "business is doing well."
I don't know. It's a principle of law that "you take your victim as you find him." If the man you punch just happens to have a very soft skull that cracks when he falls to the ground, you can't get off by pleading that he was especially vulnerable.
Don't get me wrong, this entire trial is another of vicious racialist Alvin Bragg's political persecutions, but I imagine the jury will be instructed that it doesn't matter what prior conditions Neely had.
Daniel Penny lacked the intent to kill, or even the willful disregard of the risks. He was protecting people who said they were "terrified" by this deranged drugged-up lifelong criminal thug.
But will the jury see that? Or will they just convict "The White Man"?
A straphanger was slugged in the face by an irate seatmate on a Manhattan-bound subway, but he managed to wrestle the "little b--ch" to the floor -- but that's when fellow passengers jumped in to help his attacker.
Alexander Rakitin, 42, was riding the N train to his Manhattan finance job Monday morning when he sat down next to 34-year-old Timothy Barbee.
As the train took off, the car jolted, causing Rakitin's knee to jostle Barbee's -- which set the alleged assailant off.
"Apparently my knee touched his knee. That triggered him," Rakitin told The Post.
"He was just very aggressive. I'm like, saying, 'Dude, just chill, it's like 8:30 in the morning. Like, who needs this s--t? Just chill.'"
Footage taken by another straphanger captured the two staring each other down, before Barbee yelled "It's f--king done, stop staring at me" -- and proceeded to tell the protesting Rakitin to "Make me chill" and "Shut the f--k up."
Their verbal exchange quieted for a moment while they continued to stare each other down, before Barbee said, "I ain't got time to go to jail today."
Then he smacked Rakitin across the face -- sending his glasses flying -- before the camera cut out.
"I was able to wrestle him to the ground after that, and just kind of hold him," Rakitin said. "And the craziest part was that -- and this is literally upsetting, like I'm actually emotional about it -- people on the train were trying to help him. Like, that was the most insane thing.
"It was also remarkable -- he went from acting like such a thug. And then he turned into a little b--h right away. He's like, 'I can't breathe. Please, let me go. Please, let me go. I can't breathe. Somebody give me some water. I can't breathe.' And people started giving him water. That was so insane."
Of course, the "I can't breathe" line that all of the criminals and thugs have memorized.
"People started helping [Barbee]," Rakitin added. "And they were like, 'Dude, just let him go. Let him go.' I'm like, 'Are you crazy?' Like, if I let him go, he's just gonna get up and hit me again. Like, I don't want that."
Rakitin continued to pin Barbee down until the train pulled into the next station. Once police arrived, they hauled the aggressor away.
"They asked me if I want to press charges. I said, 'Yeah, why not?' Like, this person, he can't just walk around punching people," Rakitin said.
I betcha he can just walk around punching people, if George Soros' prosecutor has anything to say about it.
Barbee, a Brooklyn resident with no prior arrests, was charged with third-degree assault.
Rakitin was left with lacerations and scratches to his face, but declined medical attention.
He said the attack should come as no surprise to anyone.
"To be honest, like everybody sees the way the city is -- it's not like it's changing. I already saw that the city is like this, that you're in a constant danger of aggression or violent crime," he said.
"It's not like it's changing. It's just kind of reaffirming that that's the way the city is."