Daniel Penny, the 26-year-old Marine veteran turned architecture student who stood trial for a chokehold that killed 30-year-old Jordan Neely on a subway train last year, is likely to testify in his own defense at the trial soon, according to a New York Times . York City attorney who has handled similar cases.

Staten Island attorney Louis Gelormino told Fox News Digital that he often hears from jurors that they wanted to know why a defendant had not testified, even if the judge instructed them that they could not blame him.

Gelormino is not involved in Penny’s case but has followed it closely and has handled two trials under the same judge among the roughly 100 he has defended in total.

For that reason, he believes that the traditional practice of keeping the suspect off the witness stand is generally a poor choice. But in a case like Penny’s, where his thought process may be crucial to justifying the act, this is not up for debate.

DANIEL PENNY TRIAL: SUBWAY MADMAN CLAIMED HE HEARD TUPAC AND DEVIL BEFORE DEADLY CHOKEHOLD, SHRINK SAYS

Daniel Penny arrives at Manhattan Supreme Court with his mother, Gina Maria Flaim-Penny, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. Penny, a Navy veteran, is charged with second-degree manslaughter and negligent homicide in the 2023 death of Jordan Neely on a New York subway York City. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)

“I think in Penny’s case he needs to take a stand,” Gelormino said. “Because when you bring up an affirmative defense like justification, it only goes to Penny’s mind. And the only person who can say what was going on in Penny’s mind at the time of the incident is Penny.”

Penny is charged with manslaughter and negligent homicide in Neely’s death.

Neely was a homeless drug abuser with schizophrenia and a criminal history, including assaulting an elderly woman. According to witnesses, he stormed into a Manhattan subway in May 2023 and began shouting threats.

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“He said, ‘I don’t care if I have to kill an F, I will. I’m going to jail, I’m going to take a bullet,'” an eyewitness told Fox News Digital last year.

Jordan Neely is pictured before going to see the 2009 Michael Jackson film ‘This is It’ outside the Regal Cinemas on 8th Avenue and 42nd Street in Times Square, New York. (Andrew Savulich/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Lawyers for both sides painted a scene for jurors about what happened on that subway train, he said. The prosecutor tries to convince them that Penny went too far, recklessly or negligently caused Neely’s death. The defense tries to convince them that his actions were justified and reasonable.

“Justification defense is used in cases like this, when you say, ‘Yes, I did the act that would have happened… but it’s not a crime because I was justified in doing it because of X, Y, and Z.’ ‘” Gelormino told Fox News Digital.

A series of witnesses called to the stand by the prosecution have already said they were scared, believed they were in danger and were concerned about their children, he noted.

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Screenshot from bystander video of Jordan Neely being held in a chokehold on the New York City subway. (Luces de Nueva York/Juan Alberto Vazquez via Storyful)

“If Perry takes the stand and says, ‘Well, I thought everyone was in danger,’ that’s ultimately, I think, where the defense would want to go,” Gelormino said.

He had suspected two clients last year in a self-defense case in which the deceased man tried to rob them and had a gun with him. They were not charged in the Staten Island case, which was overseen by a different prosecutor.

However, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office filed charges against Penny 11 days after Neely’s death in May 2023.

TEEN TESTIMONY OF JORDAN NEELY CHOKEHOLD TESTIMONIES SHE WAS ‘SCARED’ BY HIS SCREAMING, WANTED TO ‘GET AWAY’

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks with his staff at a news conference on May 30, 2024 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Neely, a homeless man and chronic drug user with a documented history of serious mental illness and criminal behavior, is described as a former Michael Jackson impersonator who was hungry and thirsty. Police found no weapons after his outburst, but they did find a muffin in his pocket.

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Penny’s trial resumes Thursday.

He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted on the top manslaughter charge.

With the defense expected to rest its case before Thanksgiving, it won’t take long to know if he takes the stand.