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Notes -
There is no double edge. If the People argue that the chokehold was deadly force (note that although there is NY authority that the use of a knife is deadly force as a matter of law, People v Kerley, 154 AD3d 1074, 1075 (2017), I don't see any such authority re chokeholds, though I only looked briefly), then the People have two arguments:
If the jury finds that the chokehold was deadly force, it must convict because Penny was not justified use of deadly force; and
If the jury finds that chokehold was not deadly force, it must nevertheless convict because it was so dangerous that its use constituted recklessness.
If they instead concede that it was not deadly force, then they only have argument #2.
There is no way that Penny is helped by a jury finding that the chokehold was deadly force. The more extreme or dangerous Penny's actions were, the easier it will be for the People to win.
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