Additional Coverage:
- Luigi Mangione escapes federal death penalty after federal prosecutors decline to appeal judge’s ruling (foxnews.com)
Federal Prosecutors Drop Death Penalty Pursuit Against Luigi Mangione in UnitedHealthcare CEO Slaying
New York, NY – Luigi Mangione, accused in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, will not face the death penalty. Federal prosecutors announced Friday they will not appeal a judge’s decision to dismiss capital punishment against him, sparing the alleged killer’s life.
In a letter, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District confirmed its acceptance of U.S.
District Judge Margaret Garnett‘s January 30 ruling. Judge Garnett’s decision dismissed a death penalty-eligible murder charge against Mangione, who is accused of fatally shooting Thompson on December 4, 2024.
Despite the removal of federal murder charges, Mangione still faces two federal stalking charges. Jury selection for these charges is slated to begin on September 8, with opening statements expected in October.
Mangione, 27, also faces a separate murder trial in state court, scheduled to commence in June, where he could face life in prison. He has pleaded not guilty to Thompson’s killing.
Judge Garnett’s January ruling highlighted that for prosecutors to charge Mangione with the federal count of murder through the use of a gun, an underlying crime of violence was necessary. Garnett stated that her decision was bound by Supreme Court precedent.
“Over the course of the last two decades or so, the Supreme Court has embarked upon a legal journey, explained herein, that now requires lower courts to engage in an analysis totally divorced from the conduct at issue and centered on the hypothetically least serious conduct that the charged crime could possibly cover,” Garnett wrote.
The December 4 slaying of Brian Thompson was captured on surveillance cameras. Video footage showed Thompson walking down a Manhattan sidewalk outside a hotel when a gunman approached him from behind and opened fire.
Thompson sustained multiple gunshot wounds and collapsed. The gunman fled the scene, later observed making his way uptown on a bicycle.