Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the murder of UnitedHealth Group CEO Brian Thompson, walks on the day of an arraignment hearing, at the New York Supreme Court in New York, U.S., December 23, 2024.
Eduardo Munoz | Reuters
Luigi Mangione will not face a possible death penalty sentence in the New York federal criminal case where he is accused of murder Health Insurance CEO Brian Thompsona judge ruled Friday.
U.S. District Court in Manhattan Justice Margaret Garnett, in a order On Friday, he dismissed two of the four criminal charges against Mangione in the case.
The potential maximum sentence for the other two counts of causing the UnitedHealthcare Executive Thompson’s death under federal stalking laws in December 2024 on a midtown Manhattan street is “life in prison without parole,” Garnett noted.
The third count, which the judge dismissed, accusing Mangione of murdering Thompson through the use of a firearm during the alleged harassment, “is a capital offense,” the judge wrote. The fourth count, also dismissed, accused Mangione of using a firearm equipped with a silencer during the stalking.
“The crimes charged in Counts Three and Four require that the crimes of stalking in Counts One and Two meet the federal statutory definition of ‘crimes of violence’ as a matter of law,” Garnett wrote. “Defendant moved to dismiss counts three and four on the basis that this condition is not met.”
The judge, who admitted that the analysis she applied to this argument “may seem tortured and strange to the average person – and even to many lawyers and judges –,” ruled that Supreme Court precedent required her to conclude that the first two counts did not meet the definition of “crimes of violence.”
“The motion is GRANTED.”
Separately, on Friday, Garnett denied a motion by Mangione’s defense team to suppress the contents of the backpack in his possession when he was questioned and detained by police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, five days after Thompson’s murder.
