UnitedHealthcare CEO assassination: Luigi Mangione's lawyers want federal charges dismissed. Know why
Lawyers of Luigi Mangione, the accused in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, want some charges against their client dropped. They have cited breach of procedure by the law enforcement authorities during Mangione's arrest. Find out more right here.
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’s chief executive, as per a report by the Associated Press.
The 27-year-old accused, who grabbed international headlines since the manhunt was on for him after the fatal shooting of Brian Thompson, has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges.
Why lawyers want federal charges to be dismissed
Mangione's lawyers, in papers filed in the Manhattan federal court, said prosecutors should also be barred from using statements he made at law enforcement officials, and also his backpack, inside which a gun and ammunition were found.
The lawyers insist that their client was not read his rights before law enforcement officials questioned him, and neither did the latter obtain a warrant before searching Mangione's backpack.
Last month, lawyers for Mangione asked that his federal charges be dismissed and the death penalty be taken off the table as a result of public comments by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. In April, Bondi directed prosecutors in New York to seek the death penalty, calling the killing of Thompson a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.”
Which is the charge for which Mangione could face death penalty?
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, as per AP.
How Mangione was caught
Soon after the killing of Thompson, a multi-state search was launched. Authorities knew that the suspect had skipped away from the scene on a bike that they rode to Central Park, before taking a taxi to an inter-state bus depot.
Five days later, a tip from a McDonald’s about 233 miles (375 kilometers) away in Altoona, Pennsylvania, led police to arrest Mangione. He has been held without bail since then.