CEO murder suspect Mangione fights death penalty charge

Luigi Mangione, accused of shooting to death a health insurance executive, appeared in US federal court to hear whether he would face the death penalty if convicted.

Mangione, 27, is accused of fatally shooting Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth Group’s health insurance unit, on a sidewalk in Midtown Manhattan in December 2024.

Public officials condemned the assassination, but Mangione became something of a folk hero to some critics of high health care costs and insurance practices in the United States.

Mangione, wearing prison garb for Friday’s hearing, was led by law enforcement to a courtroom full of observers.

He had previously pleaded not guilty to federal murder, stalking and weapons charges and was behind bars awaiting trial.

At a hearing before U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett in Manhattan, Mangione’s lawyers will argue that the firearm murder charge – the only charge that carries the possibility of the death penalty – should be dismissed because prosecutors did not meet the legal requirements for such a charge.

Garnett is separately considering Mangione’s bid to dismiss the indictment entirely and block prosecutors from seeking the death penalty for allegedly violating his constitutional rights.

The death penalty in New York was declared unconstitutional in 2004, but the ban applies to state cases, not federal cases.

Mangione also faces state criminal charges, including murder, and could face life in prison if convicted.

A trial date has not been set in either case.