Luigi Mangione’s lawyers seek to dismiss death penalty charge for CEO assassination
The legal team of Luigi Mangione is seeking to dismiss the multiple federal charges against him over the killing of health insurance executive Brian Thompson, including one that could carry the death penalty.
In court filings obtained by Fox News, Mangione's lawyers argued that prosecutors have "stretched federal statutes beyond their intent" and "engaged in overreach meant to sensationalize the killing."
They have also failed to identify offenses beyond stalking that would legally justify seeking the death penalty against the 27-year-old, since aforementioned act is not considered a crime of violence.
"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 filing read, per ABC News.
Mangione was accused to have stalked Thompson in Manhattan as the latter was about to attend an investor conference at the New York Hilton Midtown. He allegedly waited for the executive to approach before shooting him at close range.
Mangione's defense attorneys further pointed out how police failed to comply with the Fourth Amendment protections against unlawful searches after they searched his backpack, which contained a gun and ammunition, without a warrant after his arrest.
The 27-year-old is facing charges for the murder Thompson on Dec. 4 outside a hotel in midtown Manhattan, New York City. He was arrested five days after a fellow customer spotted him eating at a McDonald's restaurant in Altoona, about 370 kilometers west of New York City.
On Dec. 23, he pleaded not guilty to the 11-count indictment charging him with murder as an act of terrorism and weapons offenses.
Last April, a federal grand jury indicted him under a law on murders committed with firearms, allowing prosecutors to seek the death penalty in his case.
However, a New York state judge dismissed two terrorism-related counts against Mangione as prosecutors had not presented enough evidence to the grand jury that the suspect acted with the intent to intimidate health insurance workers or influence government policy, which would have been necessary to prove murder as an act of terrorism.
Thompson's assassination came amid the frustration of several Americans, who have seen their health insurance claims or care denied, faced unexpected costs, or paid more for premiums and medical care.
Thompson, a father of two, became UnitedHealthcare's chief in 2021, which was supposedly part of a 20-year career with the company.
The next hearing date in Mangione's federal case has been set for Dec. 5.