The legal drama surrounding Daniel Penny’s trial took a dramatic turn on Friday when Judge Wiley granted the prosecution’s motion to drop the second-degree manslaughter charge, leaving the jury to deliberate only on the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide.

This decision, criticized by legal experts like Gregg Jarrett and Alan Dershowitz, has introduced questions about the fairness of the proceedings and potential due process violations.

Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett suggested that Judge Wiley’s decision could amount to a “partial victory” for Penny’s defense—but not for reasons the prosecution intended. Jarrett explained that the judge had previously ruled the jury could only consider the lesser charge if they unanimously found Penny not guilty of the more serious second-degree manslaughter charge. However, this prerequisite was not met, as the jury was deadlocked on the higher charge.

By allowing deliberations to continue solely on the lesser charge, the judge appears to have contradicted his earlier instructions, which Jarrett described as “coercive” and legally improper.

“The judge’s only option was to declare a mistrial on the deadlocked jury and then proceed with one charge in a new trial,” Jarrett said, arguing that the current approach violates Penny’s due process rights and sets up the case for a possible appeal.

Harvard professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz added another layer of skepticism, calling the trial’s outcome predictable due to what he described as jury bias. He suggested that jurors may have entered deliberations with preconceived notions about Penny’s guilt, influenced by the highly charged nature of the case and its extensive media coverage. “This trial was destined for a hung jury from the start,” Dershowitz remarked, implying that the process was flawed from the outset.

The case stems from an altercation on a New York City subway in which Penny, a Marine veteran, used a chokehold on 30-year-old Jordan Neely. Witnesses reported that Neely had been making aggressive threats, including stating that someone was going to “die today” and that he didn’t care about going to prison for life. Neely’s death has been the subject of intense public and legal scrutiny, with the prosecution initially charging Penny with second-degree manslaughter.

The jury’s inability to reach a unanimous verdict on the manslaughter charge led to its dismissal, and they will now weigh the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide when deliberations resume on Monday.

Penny’s defense team expressed cautious optimism, issuing a statement that they hope the jury will dismiss the remaining charge, allowing them to focus on the civil lawsuit recently filed against Penny. The civil suit mirrors the allegations in the criminal indictment, ensuring that legal battles will continue even if Penny is acquitted in the criminal case.