US seeks death penalty for accused killer of health insurance CEO
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Luigi Mangione is accused of shooting and killing UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson in New York in 2024.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON – US Attorney-General Pam Bondi on April 1 asked federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione, who allegedly gunned down an American healthcare chief executive in a brazen attack.
“Luigi Mangione’s murder of Brian Thompson – an innocent man and father of two young children – was a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America,” Ms Bondi said in a statement.
“After careful consideration, I have directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in this case.”
The murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Thompson
Ms Bondi called the murder “an act of political violence” that “may have posed grave risk of death to additional persons”.
In response, Mangione’s lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo accused the Justice Department of moving “from the dysfunctional to the barbaric”.
He is charged in both state and federal courts.
In the state case, he has pleaded not guilty and could face life imprisonment with no parole if convicted.
Ms Agnifilo said the call to execute her client is “political and goes against the recommendation of the local federal prosecutors, the law and historical precedent”.
Early on Dec 4, Mangione allegedly tracked Mr Thompson, walked up behind him and fired several gunshots from a pistol with a silencer, federal prosecutors said.
Mangione had travelled to New York by bus from Atlanta about 10 days before the crime.
He was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Dec 9 following a tip-off from staff at a McDonald’s restaurant, after a days-long manhunt.
His lawyer has sought clarity on how simultaneous federal and state charges would work, calling the situation “highly unusual.” AFP
