A US federal judge on Friday barred prosecutors from seeking the death penalty against Luigi Mangione in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, after dismissing the only federal charge that allowed capital punishment in the federal case.
US District Judge Margaret Garnett dismissed the federal murder-through-use-of-a-firearm charge and a related gun count, finding the indictment was technically flawed because it relied on stalking as the underlying “crime of violence”. Stalking does not meet that definition under federal law, she wrote, citing case law and legal precedents, the Associated Pressreported.
Garnett said she acted to “foreclose the death penalty as an available punishment to be considered by the jury”, adding that although the outcome may appear “tortured and strange”, it reflected a faithful application of Supreme Court precedent.
The decision is a setback for federal prosecutors, who had pushed to pursue capital punishment and argued that two stalking charges — alleging Mangione tracked Thompson online and travelled across state lines to carry out the killing — qualified as crimes of violence, CNN reported. The dismissed murder count was the only charge in the federal indictment that carried a possible death sentence.
Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty to federal and state murder charges. Two federal stalking counts remain and carry a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment without parole if convicted, AP and CNN reported. The rulings may be subject to appeal.
According to AP, the decision also blocks an effort by the Trump administration to pursue capital punishment in what it described as a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.” Attorney General Pam Bondi had directed federal prosecutors last April to seek the death penalty.
In a separate ruling, Garnett allowed prosecutors to use evidence seized from Mangione’s backpack at the time of his arrest. Authorities recovered a 9mm handgun and a notebook in which investigators say Mangione described his intent to “wack” an insurance executive, according to AP.
According to CNN, the items also included a loaded magazine and a red notebook that authorities say ties him to the killing. Defence lawyers had argued the search was illegal because officers had not yet obtained a warrant and there was no immediate threat to justify a warrantless search.
Thompson, 50, was shot dead on December 4, 2024, as he walked to a midtown Manhattan hotel for UnitedHealth Group’s investor conference, AP reported. Mangione was arrested five days later in Pennsylvania.
Jury selection in the federal trial is scheduled to begin on September 8, with opening statements set for October 13.
