Judge rules Luigi Mangione won’t face death penalty
In a significant legal development, Fox News’ Nate Foy has reported that a judge has dismissed the most severe accusation against Luigi Mangione, while choosing not to suppress certain evidence as requested by the defense. Legal editor Kerri Urbahn provided insights into the implications of these judicial decisions.
For Mangione, this outcome means that his life has been spared, as federal prosecutors announced on Friday that they would not challenge the judge’s decision to annul the possibility of the death penalty. This development follows U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett’s ruling on January 30, which eliminated the charge of murder eligible for capital punishment against Mangione. He had been accused of the shooting death of UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson on December 4, 2024.
The U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District conveyed their acceptance of the judge’s decision via a letter, stating they would not pursue an appeal. This decision effectively removes the death penalty from the table for Mangione.
While the murder charge has been dismissed, Mangione is still facing serious legal challenges, as he remains charged with two federal stalking offenses. The case continues to unfold, with these charges still pending resolution in the courts.
Luigi Mangione will not face the death penalty after federal prosecutors on Friday said they won’t appeal a judge’s ruling that dismissed a capital punishment charge against the accused killer. (Curtis Means for DailyMail/Pool)
Despite not being tried on murder charges, Mangione still faces two federal stalking charges.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin Sept. 8. Opening statements will begin in October.
Mangione, 27, also faces life in prison at a separate murder trial in state court slated to begin in June. He has pleaded not guilty to Thompson’s killing.
To charge Mangione with the federal count of murder through use of a gun, prosecutors need an underlying crime of violence, Garnett said in her January ruling.
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This 2017 file photo of Brian Thompson was released via Businesswire when he was named CEO of UnitedHealthcare Unit in 2017. (Businesswire)
Garnett wrote that she was bound by Supreme Court precedent.
“Over the course of the last two decades or so, the Supreme Court has embarked upon a legal journey, explained herein, that now requires lower courts to engage in an analysis totally divorced from the conduct at issue and centered on the hypothetically least serious conduct that the charged crime could possibly cover,” she wrote.
Surveillance cameras recorded the slaying. Video footage showed Thompson walking down a Manhattan sidewalk outside a hotel when a gunman approached him from behind and opened fire.
Composite image of Luigi Mangione with inset of the shooting of Brian Thompson (Fox News)
Thompson sustained multiple gunshot wounds and collapsed to the ground. The gunman fled and was later spotted making his way uptown on a bicycle.
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