US prosecutors to seek death penalty for Luigi Mangione in murder of health insurance CEO
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Luigi Mangione is accused of murdering Mr Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth's insurance division, in New York in 2024.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
NEW YORK – US prosecutors formally told a court on April 24 that they plan to seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione, who is accused of murdering a UnitedHealth Group executive
Mangione, 26, is due to appear in Manhattan federal court for an arraignment on April 25.
He has pleaded not guilty to a separate New York state indictment over the murder of Mr Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth's insurance division.
While public officials condemn the killing, some Americans have cheered Mangione, saying he drew attention to steep US healthcare costs and the power of health insurers to refuse payment for some treatments.
In justifying their decision, prosecutors wrote in their filing that Mangione "presents a future danger because he expressed an intent to target an entire industry, and rally political and social opposition to that industry, by engaging in an act of lethal violence."
US Attorney-General Pam Bondi earlier in April announced that the Justice Department would seek the death penalty for Mangione.
The April 24 court filing by the Manhattan US Attorney's office formalises prosecutors' intent to impose the death penalty.
Mangione's lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment on April 24.
They have said Ms Bondi's April 1 announcement was "unapologetically political" and breached government protocols for death penalty decisions.
If Mangione is convicted in the federal case, the jury would determine in a separate phase of the trial whether to recommend the death penalty.
Any such recommendation must be unanimous, and the judge would be required to impose it.
Mr Thompson was shot dead on Dec 4 outside a hotel in Midtown Manhattan, where the company was gathering for an investor conference.
The brazen killing and ensuing five-day manhunt captivated Americans.
Police officers in Altoona, Pennsylvania, found Mangione with a 9mm pistol and silencer, clothing that matched the apparel worn by Mr Thompson's shooter in surveillance footage, and a notebook describing an intent to "wack" an insurance company CEO, according to a court filing.
Mangione is currently being held in federal lockup in Brooklyn. REUTERS
