NEW YORK: Luigi Mangione will not face the death penalty after a US judge on Friday (Jan 30) dismissed murder and weapons charges against the accused killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, in a major blow to federal prosecutors.
US District Judge Margaret Garnett in Manhattan said she felt constrained by Supreme Court precedents to dismiss the murder charge, calling it legally incompatible with the two federal stalking charges Mangione still faces.
Mangione still faces murder charges in a separate case brought by state prosecutors.
Federal murder statutes carry different legal requirements than comparable state laws, and Garnett said federal law required Mangione’s murder and weapons charges to be tied to another crime of violence.
Stalking, the judge said, did not meet this requirement because it was neither “inherently” violent nor always intentional. Garnett acknowledged that the average person might be bewildered by the dismissal.
Mangione, 27, still faces possible life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted on the stalking charges.
Dominic Gentile, a federal prosecutor, told Garnett at a court hearing that the government has not decided whether to appeal.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, a lawyer for Mangione, Karen Agnifilo, thanked Garnett for the “incredible” decision. Asked for Mangione’s reaction, she said, “we’re all relieved.”
Thompson, who led UnitedHealth Group’s UNH.N health insurance business, was shot and killed on Dec 4, 2024 outside the Hilton hotel in midtown Manhattan.
Mangione pleaded not guilty to all charges stemming from Thompson’s death, and has been jailed since his arrest in Pennsylvania five days after the killing.
While public officials widely condemned Thompson’s killing, Mangione became a folk hero of sorts to many Americans who decry high costs for medical care and health insurer practices.