NEW YORK: Luigi Mangione is not going to face the demise penalty after a US choose on Friday (Jan 30) dismissed homicide and weapons expenses against the accused killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, in a significant blow to federal prosecutors.
US District Choose Margaret Garnett in Manhattan stated she felt constrained by Supreme Court docket precedents to dismiss the homicide cost, calling it legally incompatible with the 2 federal stalking expenses Mangione nonetheless faces.
Mangione nonetheless faces homicide expenses in a separate case introduced by state prosecutors.
Federal homicide statutes carry completely different authorized necessities than comparable state legal guidelines, and Garnett stated federal regulation required Mangione’s homicide and weapons expenses to be tied to a different crime of violence.
Stalking, the choose stated, didn’t meet this requirement as a result of it was neither “inherently” violent nor at all times intentional. Garnett acknowledged that the common individual could be bewildered by the dismissal.
Mangione, 27, nonetheless faces attainable life in jail with out the potential of parole if convicted on the stalking expenses.
Dominic Gentile, a federal prosecutor, advised Garnett at a courtroom listening to that the federal government has not determined whether or not to attraction.
Talking to reporters after the listening to, a lawyer for Mangione, Karen Agnifilo, thanked Garnett for the “unbelievable” resolution. Requested for Mangione’s response, she stated, “we’re all relieved.”
Thompson, who led UnitedHealth Group’s UNH.N medical insurance enterprise, was shot and killed on Dec 4, 2024 exterior the Hilton resort in midtown Manhattan.
Mangione pleaded not responsible to all expenses stemming from Thompson’s demise, and has been jailed since his arrest in Pennsylvania 5 days after the killing.
Whereas public officers broadly condemned Thompson’s killing, Mangione grew to become a people hero of types to many People who decry excessive prices for medical care and well being insurer practices.
