Luigi Mangione: Death penalty sought for US health CEO Brian Thompson’s accused murderer
US prosecutors have formally told a court they plan to seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione, who is accused of murdering a UnitedHealth Group executive in New York in 2024.
Mangione, 26, is due to appear in Manhattan federal court for an arraignment on Friday. He has pleaded not guilty to a separate New York state indictment he faces over the murder of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth’s insurance division.
US Attorney-General Pam Bondi earlier this month announced the Justice Department would seek the death penalty for Mangione.
Sign up to The Nightly's newsletters.
Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.
By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Thursday’s court filing by the Manhattan US Attorney’s office formalises prosecutors’ intent to impose the death penalty.
Mangione’s lawyers have said Mr Bondi’s April 1 announcement was “unapologetically political” and breached government protocols for death penalty decisions.
While public officials condemned the killing, some Americans have cheered Mangione, saying he drew attention to steep US healthcare costs and the power of health insurers to refuse payment for some treatments.
In justifying their decision, prosecutors wrote in their filing that Mangione “presents a future danger because he expressed an intent to target an entire industry, and rally political and social opposition to that industry, by engaging in an act of lethal violence”.
If Mangione is convicted in the federal case, the jury would determine in a separate phase of the trial whether to recommend the death penalty. Any such recommendation must be unanimous, and the judge would be required to impose it.
Mr Thompson was shot dead on December 4, 2024 outside a hotel in Midtown Manhattan, where the company was gathering for an investor conference.
The brazen killing and ensuing five-day manhunt captivated Americans. Police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, found Mangione with a 9-mm pistol and silencer, clothing that matched the apparel worn by Thompson’s shooter in surveillance footage, and a notebook describing an intent to “wack” an insurance company CEO, according to a court filing.
Mangione is currently being held in federal lockup in Brooklyn.
