Luigi Mangione will no longer face the possibility of execution in federal court over the 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Manhattan federal prosecutors told a judge on Friday that they won't challenge a ruling that blocked them from seeking the death penalty, opting against an interlocutory appeal of US District Judge Margaret Garnett's decision, reports NBC News. Last month, Garnett, who the AP notes is a Biden appointee, threw out two of four federal charges against the 27-year-old Mangione, including a murder count that could have carried a death sentence, finding the underlying stalking offense didn't meet the legal definition of a "crime of violence." She had given prosecutors till Friday to appeal, per ABC News.
Mangione still faces two federal counts of interstate stalking, each carrying a potential life term without parole, and has pleaded not guilty. His attorney, Karen Agnifilo, hailed Garnett's ruling and thanked supporters outside court, per NBC. The Justice Department's shift comes after Attorney General Pam Bondi had previously directed prosecutors to seek capital punishment, calling Thompson's killing a "premeditated ... assassination." Thompson, 50, was shot in Midtown Manhattan on Dec. 4, 2024, as he headed to an investor conference, sparking a five-day manhunt that ended with Mangione's arrest at a Pennsylvania McDonald's. A federal trial is scheduled for this fall, and a separate New York state trial, where Mangione faces nine counts including second-degree murder, is set to begin June 8.
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