Luigi Mangione won’t face death penalty in CEO murder case, federal judge rules
Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the murder of UnitedHealth Group CEO Brian Thompson, walks during his trial day in New York Supreme Court on December 23, 2024 in New York City.
Eduardo Muñoz | Reuters
Luigi Mangione will not face a possible death penalty in his New York federal criminal case. kill Health insurance CEO Brian Thompson, a judge ruled Friday.
Manhattan U.S. District Court Judge Margaret Garnett order On Friday, two of the four counts Mangione, 27, faced in the case were dismissed; either of which could potentially subject him to execution if convicted.
The maximum possible penalty for the remaining two penalties is, UnitedHealthcare Garnett stated that administrator Thompson’s death under federal stalking laws amounted to “a sentence of life in prison without parole.”
Thompson, 50, was fatally shot on a midtown Manhattan street in December 2024 while walking to an investor event for his company’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group.
The third count charged Mangione with using a firearm to kill Thompson during the alleged pursuit.
That count, which the judge rejected, would have subjected Mangione to a possible death penalty. The fourth allegation, also denied, accused Mangione of using a firearm equipped with a silencer during the pursuit.
“The crimes charged in Counts Three and Four require that the stalking crimes in Counts One and Two meet, as a matter of law, the federal statutory definition of ‘crimes of violence,’” Garnett wrote.
“Defendant moves to dismiss Counts Three and Four on the grounds that this requirement has not been met.”
Luigi Mangione, along with defense attorneys Karen Friedman Agnifilo and Marc Agnifilo, appear in this courtroom sketch where U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett announces that he will not face the death penalty during his arraignment in Manhattan Federal Court on murder charges in the Jan. 30, 2026, slaying of UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson in New York City.
Jane Rosenberg | Reuters
Acknowledging that the analysis he applied to this argument “might seem tortured and strange to the average person – and indeed to many lawyers and judges -” the judge ruled that Supreme Court precedent forced him to conclude that the first two charges did not meet the definition of “crimes of violence.”
“The proposal was accepted.”
Separately Friday, Garnett rejected a request from Mangione’s defense team to conceal the contents of a backpack he had when he was questioned and detained by police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, five days after Thompson was killed.
When the police searched that backpack, they first found a loaded gun magazine, then a gun, a silencer and a red notebook, among other items. Mangione’s lawyers argued that the search was not legally valid.
Mangione also faces murder charges in state court in Manhattan; where prosecutors are trying to try him ahead of a federal trial.
There is no death penalty option in criminal cases filed in New York state courts.
