A federal district judge in New York has decided that Luigi Mangione, 27, will not be subject to the death penalty for allegedly killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024.
Judge Margaret Garnett (Biden)’s ruling is a setback for federal prosecutors who sought the death penalty in this case.
Garnett also determined that evidence obtained from Mangione’s backpack is permissible as evidence. Law enforcement confiscated various items from the backpack – including a handgun, a loaded magazine, and a red notebook, which authorities claim link him to the crime.
Mangione’s lawyers had requested the exclusion of the evidence from the trial, arguing that the search of his backpack was unlawful because no warrant was obtained, and there was no immediate threat that justified a warrantless search.
Surveillance cameras captured the murder, with footage showing Thompson walking down the sidewalk outside a hotel when a man approached from behind and opened fire. Thompson sustained multiple gunshot wounds and fell to the ground, after which the assailant fled and was later seen on a bicycle heading uptown. There was at least one eyewitness.
Mangione was apprehended five days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after customers and staff recognized him from a wanted poster.
The defense has strongly contended that prosecutors have failed to allege an underlying “crime of violence” required for the top charge of murder with a firearm. Prosecutors countered, arguing in a response filing that the defense is relying on an irrelevant precedent.
“In this case, no court has interpreted the ‘conduct that places [the victim] in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury’ element,” federal prosecutors stated.
To charge Mangione with murder using a firearm, prosecutors must demonstrate an underlying crime of violence. They have cited this to be stalking, although legal experts have indicated that stalking can occur without violence.
“It’s like a series of dominos — the only way that the federal government can get to a death penalty charge in their case is if the murder was committed during the course of a violent felony,” LA criminal defense attorney Joshua Ritter previously told Fox News. “And the reason that they need that is because they need what’s called a federal hook to get them federal jurisdiction.”
Jury selection for the trial is set for Sept. 8, with the trial to follow in either October or January. Prosecutors have requested a start date of July 1.
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