Luigi Mangione’s Attorneys Seek to Dismiss Death Penalty Charge

Luigi Mangione’s defense lawyers are moving to dismiss several charges — including one that could carry the death penalty.

The attorneys for 27-year-old — who was arrested in 2024 in connection to the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson — filed papers with a New York federal judge on Saturday, Oct. 11. His lawyers argue that prosecutors have failed to identify any offenses beyond stalking that meet the legal criteria for pursuing the death penalty, according to the Associated Press, Fox News and ABC News.

“It is clear that, in its generic form, this crime can be committed without the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another,” the defense said in the filing, per ABC News.

The defense also argued that since law enforcement “failed to obtain a search warrant” before searching his backpack when he was captured in a McDonald’s in Altoona, Penn., any evidence recovered should be suppressed, per the outlet. 

A gun and ammunition were notably found amid his belongings, along with a fake New Jersey ID used to book a stay at an Upper West Side hostel and a three-page “manifesto.”

The defense attorneys, citing police bodycam footage, also said in the filing that prosecutors should be prevented from using Mangione’s statements to law enforcement officers in Altoona, as he allegedly wasn’t read his Miranda rights before being questioned by police.

Mangione was arrested on Dec. 9 in connection with the fatal shooting of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, who was shot three times by a masked gunman outside of a Manhattan hotel on Dec. 4.

On Dec. 19, the Department of Justice charged Manigone with one count of using a firearm to commit murder, one count of interstate stalking resulting in death, one count of stalking through use of interstate facilities resulting in death and one count of discharging a firearm that was equipped with a silencer in furtherance of a crime of violence.

In April, he pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges against him. He was also indicted on two terrorism charges in New York, but those were dismissed last month.

The accused murderer has been held pretrial at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., since his arrest

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The next hearing date in Mangione’s federal case is scheduled for Dec. 5, at which a trial date will be determined, per NBC News.