That he was thirsty, hungry, and “fed up” just before Penny restrained him using a technique she had learned in Marine Corps training.
The prosecution said that Penny, 26, was careless in holding the unarmed Neely in a chokehold for around six minutes after he stopped struggling during a trial that lasted more than six weeks.
According to the defense, Penny was protecting other travelers when Neely became “psychotic” and threatened to murder them.
Steve Raiser, the defense lawyer, said on Monday that he would not yet comment on the case. After the first count was dropped on Friday.
He said that his team hoped Penny would quickly move beyond the “nightmare” so that attorneys could start working on a civil case that Neely’s father had filed against him for the murder of his son.
