Luigi Mangione to face the death penalty in alleged murder of CEO
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has instructed the Justice Department to pursue the death penalty against Luigi Mangione.
Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel, asked a New York federal judge to prevent the Trump administration from seeking the death penalty against him.
“The United States government intends to kill Mr. Mangione as a political stunt,” Mangione’s lawyers wrote in his motion to the Manhattan court. They argued that the only way to protect Mangione’s constitutional rights after Attorney General Pam Bondi publicly announced she wants him executed is to take the death penalty off the table.
Mangione faces both federal and state criminal charges in Thompson’s death early Dec. 4. He is facing the potential death penalty if he is convicted in his federal case, in which he’s accused of stalking Thompson and murdering him with a firearm.
The Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mangione’s lawyers say he has lived ‘an exemplary life in every respect’
On April 1, Bondi released a public statement explaining that she ordered federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty against Mangione in order to “carry out President Trump’s agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again.”
Mangione’s lawyers pointed to that and other public statements to argue Bondi had unfairly set potential jurors against him. They also said Bondi ignored Justice Department procedures for deciding whether to seek the death penalty, including taking into account what they said were aspects of Mangione’s life that weigh against capital punishment.
“Mr. Mangione’s background reveals an exemplary life in every respect,” his lawyers argued.
“He was, and is, a loved and cherished son, brother, uncle and cousin in a large, close, loving family. He was the valedictorian of his high school where he led the robotics team to the Eastern Regional Finals,” they added.
A murder draws widespread attention
In his role as CEO of UnitedHealthcare, Thompson, who was a father to two young children, ran a nationwide health insurance company. Mangione was captured at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania after a days-long search for a suspect.
In a strange turn for a criminal defendant facing murder charges, Mangione has drawn in fans and supporters to his criminal proceedings, including some who have expressed anger towards the health insurance industry.
A donation page to help with his legal expenses showed more than $850,000 in contributions as of Friday.