Luigi Mangione's Lawyers Want Key Charge Dismissed

Lawyers for Luigi Mangione asked a New York federal judge Saturday to dismiss some criminal charges, including the only count for which he could face the death penalty, from a federal indictment brought against him in the December assassination of UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson. In papers filed in Manhattan federal court, the lawyers also said prosecutors should also be prevented from using at trial his statements to law enforcement officers and his backpack where a gun and ammunition were found, reports the AP.

• In their submission, defense lawyers provided a minute-by-minute description of how police officers apprehended a cooperative Mangione at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, including a photograph from a police body-worn camera of the suspect initially sitting alone at a table with a white mask covering nearly all of his face. They said Mangione was not read his rights before he was questioned by law enforcement officers, who arrested him after Brian Thompson was fatally shot as he arrived at a Manhattan hotel for an investor conference. They added that officers did not obtain a warrant before searching Mangione's backpack.

• Murder cases are usually tried in state courts, but prosecutors have also charged Mangione under a federal law on murders committed with firearms as part of other "crimes of violence." It's the only charge for which Mangione could face the death penalty, since it's not used in New York state. The papers filed early Saturday morning argued that this charge should be dismissed because prosecutors have failed to identify the other offenses that would be required to convict him, saying that the alleged other crime—stalking—is not a crime of violence.