On Friday, a judge ruled that federal prosecutors are unable to pursue the death penalty against Luigi Mangione for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, thwarting the Trump administration’s efforts to have him executed for what it described as a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.”
U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett dismissed a federal murder charge against Mangione, determining it was legally deficient. She stated her intention was to “foreclose the death penalty as an available punishment to be considered by the jury” when deliberating on Mangione’s conviction.
Garnett also dismissed a charge related to firearms but upheld the stalking charges, which carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Prosecutors were required to prove that Mangione killed Thompson while committing another “crime of violence,” but Garnett noted that stalking does not meet this criterion, referencing legal precedents in her ruling.
In a development favorable to prosecutors, Garnett ruled that evidence obtained from Mangione’s backpack during his arrest can be used in court, which includes a 9-mm handgun and a notebook where authorities allege Mangione expressed his desire to “wack” an insurance executive.
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Mangione’s defense team sought to suppress these items, arguing that the search was unlawful as police had not yet secured a warrant.
These rulings may be appealed. A request for comment was sent to a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, which is handling the federal prosecution.
Garnett recognized that her ruling “may strike the average person — and indeed many lawyers and judges — as tortured and strange, and the result may seem contrary to our intuitions about the criminal law.”
However, she emphasized that it was her “committed effort to faithfully apply the dictates of the Supreme Court to the charges in this case. The law must be the court’s only concern.”
A federal judge in New York has dismissed a murder charge against Luigi Mangione, accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in 2024. U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett found the charge technically flawed. Mangione will still face federal stalking and firearms charges, as well as a separate state murder charge.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty
During a brief, previously scheduled hearing about an hour after Garnett’s written ruling, 27-year-old Mangione appeared at ease alongside his legal team. While prosecutors maintained the option to appeal the ruling, they indicated readiness to move forward with the trial.
Mangione’s attorneys did not comment on the ruling during the hearing. However, attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo expressed afterwards that both her client and the defense team felt relieved by the “incredible decision.”
Jury selection for the federal case is set to begin on September 8, with opening statements and testimony starting on October 13. A schedule for the state trial has yet to be established. On Wednesday, the Manhattan district attorney’s office sent a letter requesting that the judge set a trial date of July 1 for that case.
Thompson, aged 50, was fatally shot on December 4, 2024, while he was en route to a hotel in midtown Manhattan for UnitedHealth Group’s annual investor conference.
U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett speaks from the bench during a hearing for Luigi Mangione in Manhattan federal court in New York on Jan. 9. (Elizabeth Williams/The Associated Press)
Surveillance footage captured a masked shooter attacking him from behind. Authorities reported that phrases like “delay,” “deny,” and “depose” were inscribed on the ammunition, echoing a common tactic used by insurers to evade claims.
Mangione, an Ivy League graduate from an affluent family in Maryland, was apprehended five days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, approximately 370 kilometers west of Manhattan.
Following through on Donald Trump’s campaign commitment to aggressively pursue capital punishment, Attorney General Pam Bondi instructed Manhattan federal prosecutors last April to seek the death penalty for Mangione.
This marked the first instance during Trump’s second presidential term that the Justice Department aimed to pursue the death penalty. He had returned to office a year prior, promising to reinstate federal executions which had been suspended under his predecessor, Joe Biden.
‘Based on politics, not merit’
Garnett, appointed by Biden, made her ruling after a series of court filings from both prosecution and defense in recent months. She had previously conducted oral arguments on the issue earlier this month.
In addition to seeking to dismiss the death penalty based on the grounds cited by Garnett, Mangione’s defense team contended that Bondi’s announcement violated long-standing Justice Department protocols and indicated that the decision was “based on politics, not merit.”
They argued that her public comments, which were followed by social media posts and a television appearance, “indelibly prejudiced” the grand jury process that led to his indictment shortly thereafter.
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Prosecutors urged Garnett to retain the possibility of the death penalty, asserting that the charges justifying such a punishment were legally valid and that Bondi’s comments did not constitute prejudice, as “pretrial publicity, even when intense, is not itself a constitutional defect.”
Instead of dismissing the case entirely or preventing the government from seeking the death penalty, prosecutors argued that the defense’s concerns could be addressed by thoroughly questioning potential jurors about their familiarity with the case and ensuring Mangione’s rights are upheld during the trial.
“What the defendant recasts as a constitutional crisis is merely a repackaging of arguments” that have been rejected in prior cases, prosecutors stated. “None warrants dismissal of the indictment or categorical exclusion of a punishment authorized by Congress.”
Supporters of Mangione raise signs outside Manhattan federal court on Jan. 9. (Yuki Iwamura/The Associated Press)
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