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Luigi Mangione’s legal team is requesting that prosecutors refrain from pursuing the death penalty in his case, contending that officials have unfairly influenced the proceedings.
The defense for the alleged murderer asserts that his arrest related to the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was sensationalized by Attorney General Pam Bondi and New York Mayor Eric Adams.
The attorneys submitted a motion to dismiss the capital charges following New York Judge Gregory Carro’s recent decision to drop two significant state terrorism charges against Mangione.
In their motion, Mangione’s lawyers stated that the actions of Bondi and Adams have ingrained an image reminiscent of a Marvel film in the minds of the jurors, referencing the widely publicized “perp walk.”
The motion alleged that Bondi issued ‘factually incorrect, prejudicial statements’ by publicizing that the Department of Justice intended to pursue the death penalty against Mangione.
The filing further claimed that the Attorney General’s choice to inform New York prosecutors via a public press release, rather than through private channels, marked an ‘unprecedented’ move.
They said that jurors were exposed to the press release before hearing any evidence in the case.
The filing also emphasized that Bondi never mentioned Mangione’s charges were ‘mere allegations’ or that he is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Luigi Mangione’s lawyers called his infamous ‘perp walk’ a scene ‘befitting a captured cartel chief or comic book villain’
Mangione’s lawyers argued that Attorney General Pam Bondi made ‘factually-misleading, prejudicial public statements’ in regards to seeking the death penalty against their client
Mayor Eric Adams omitted any mention of Mangione’s presumption of innocence in his comments, according to the accused killer’s legal team
‘She assured the country, including the grand jurors, that she gave the matter “careful consideration” and that her expert opinion, as the head of the Department of Justice and nation’s highest ranking law enforcement officer, was that Mangione warranted execution,’ Mangione’s lawyers wrote.
The petition also called out the infamous ‘perp walk’ organized by Adams, which featured the Mayor and heavily armed police officers flanking Mangione as he was chained up in an orange jumpsuit.
The lawyers called it a scene ‘befitting a captured cartel chief or comic book villain’.
They also mentioned Adams’s statements at a press conference afterwards, when he said, ‘this act of terrorism and the violence that stems from it are something that will not be tolerated in the city.’
The filing said that, ‘as with every press conference concerning Mr. Mangione, there was no mention of his presumption of innocence or his right to due process.’
It also said the perp walk was meant ‘to recast Mangione as already guilty, already convicted, already condemned, already facing punishment—in this case, a potential death sentence—in the eyes of the public.’
The filing even touched on comments made by President Donald Trump, who discussed the case on Fox News in violation of court rules.
The President said Mangione ‘looked like a pure assassin’ on the air and he discussed the case as if the alleged killer had already been found guilty, saying: ‘He shot him right in the middle of the back. Instantly dead. And now… I’m watching the girls going crazy for him. This is a sickness. This really has to be studied and investigated. It’s not possible.’
Despite Mangione’s terrorism charges getting dismissed, he still faces a slew of federal charges and state charges
This is the second time Mangione’s lawyers have attempted to block the death penalty against their client
Mangione’s lawyers argued that the methods of government officials in their attempt to seek the death penalty were characterized by, ‘unconstitutional and prejudicial conduct’ which violated his right to due process.
The alleged killer’s lawyers have tried to block the death penalty before. In April, they submitted a filing calling the charge against their client ‘a political stunt’.
Mangione is accused of the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Thompson. On December 4, a masked gunman shot and killed Thompson on a street in midtown Manhattan.
Mangione was arrested in Pennsylvania after a manhunt that lasted five days. Authorities said he had written ‘the parasites simply had it coming’ in a notebook they found during the arrest.
Despite his dismissed terrorism charges, Mangione is still facing a slew of federal charges and state charges in New York and Pennsylvania.
His federal charges include two counts of stalking, one count of firearms offense, and one count of murder through the use of a firearm, which is the charge with the potential to make him eligible for the death penalty.
In New York, Mangione is facing one count of murder in the second degree, two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, four counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree, one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth Degree and one count of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree.
In Pennsylvania, he is charged with forgery, carrying a firearm without a license, tampering with records or identification, possessing instruments of a crime and false identification to law enforcement.
Federal prosecutors have until October 31 to respond to Mangione’s lawyers’ filing. The alleged killer is scheduled to return to court in the federal case on December 5.
