Luigi Mangione has entered a plea of not guilty to federal charges related to the fatal shooting of health insurance executive Brian Thompson, occurring one day after prosecutors announced their intention to pursue the death penalty.
The 26-year-old Mr. Mangione had previously pleaded not guilty to a different set of New York state charges pertaining to the killing of Mr. Thompson, a former CEO of a UnitedHealth insurance unit, on December 4.
He made his plea during an arraignment presided over by US District Judge Margaret Garnett.
The shocking shooting of Mr. Thompson outside a midtown Manhattan hotel, where the company was hosting an investor conference, along with the subsequent five-day manhunt, captured national attention.
While public officials condemned the murder, some segments of the population have supported Mr. Mangione, claiming he highlighted the exorbitant costs of US healthcare and the authority of health insurers to deny payment for certain treatments.
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In their rationale for pursuing the death penalty, prosecutors stated in a court document that Mr. Mangione “poses a future danger as he demonstrated an intent to target an entire industry and mobilize political and social opposition to that industry through an act of lethal violence.”
Earlier this month, US Attorney General Pam Bondi declared that the Justice Department would seek the death penalty for Mr. Mangione.
Last night’s court filing from the Manhattan US Attorney’s office confirmed the prosecutors’ intentions.
Mr. Mangione’s attorneys contend that Ms. Bondi’s April 1 announcement was “openly political” and violated government protocols concerning death penalty considerations.
Should Mr. Mangione be convicted in the federal case, the jury will decide in a subsequent trial phase whether to recommend the death penalty.
Such a recommendation must be unanimous, and the judge would be mandated to impose it.
Currently, Mr. Mangione is being held in a federal prison in Brooklyn.
