Yoran said the DA’s office was worried that the defense attorneys might try to get witnesses to assess whether Penny’s actions on the subway were appropriate. Yoran mentioned the terms “good Samaritan” and “hero” as labels that witnesses shouldn’t be allowed to use to describe Penny, because she said they’re subjective opinions.

Prosecutors in Daniel Penny’s trial on Tuesday asked the judge to prevent words like “hero” and “Samaritan” from being elicited from witnesses because they may draw sympathy for the Marine veteran who put a homeless street performer in a fatal chokehold on a New York subway last year.

Penny, 24, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide for the May 1, 2023, incident that played out between two stops on an uptown F train.

U.S. Marine vet Daniel Penny's manslaughter trial in New York City subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely kicks off with opening statements Friday.