A Manhattan judge delivered a major ruling Friday that bars federal prosecutors from seeking the death penalty against suspected assassin Luigi Mangione, reshaping the legal landscape ahead of one of the nation’s most closely watched murder trials.
Attorney General Pam Bondi had previously directed federal prosecutors to pursue capital punishment after Mangione was arrested and charged in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. But U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett ruled that the specific federal charge making Mangione eligible for the death penalty could not stand due to what she described as “legal infirmities,” according to reporting.
The charge at issue accused Mangione of using a firearm to commit murder in furtherance of a crime of violence. Garnett said she was dismissing that portion of the indictment solely to remove the death penalty as a potential punishment, while leaving it to a jury to determine whether Mangione caused Thompson’s death.
The judge agreed with arguments from Mangione’s defense team that stalking does not qualify as a crime of violence under federal law. While acknowledging that her conclusion might seem unusual, Garnett reasoned that violence is defined by the use of force and that stalking, at least under the statute in question, could theoretically be committed without force.
The ruling stems from the December 4, 2024, killing of Thompson, who was shot from behind in Midtown Manhattan while walking to a hotel during his company’s annual investor conference. Thompson, a Minnesota resident, was married and had two young children. Investigators recovered shell casings at the scene bearing the words “delay,” “deny,” and “depose,” language authorities linked to a 2010 book critical of the health insurance industry. Police have said Mangione’s fingerprints allegedly matched those found on the shell casings.
As a result of Garnett’s decision, Mangione now faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole rather than the death penalty. Prosecutors have indicated they plan to appeal the ruling.
In a separate decision the same day, Garnett ruled against the defense on a key evidentiary issue, allowing prosecutors to use items seized from Mangione’s backpack at the time of his arrest in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Although police searched the backpack without a warrant, the judge said established exceptions apply, including circumstances involving the discovery of a weapon.
Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona following a five-day manhunt. Authorities say officers recovered a firearm, a silencer, and what appeared to be a manifesto from his backpack. In a notebook allegedly found in his possession, the author wrote about plans to “whack” the health care CEO at what was described as the company’s annual investor gathering.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to both federal and state murder charges. With capital punishment now off the table, jury selection is scheduled to begin on September 8, with opening arguments expected in October.
The case has already drawn national attention, fueled in part by a disturbing online following that has emerged around Mangione. Some supporters have openly defended Thompson’s killing and called for violence against other health care executives.
Bondi previously described Thompson’s murder as “a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.” Despite Friday’s ruling, the case remains one of the most consequential criminal trials on the horizon, with prosecutors still seeking the harshest sentence now available under the law.
