Image Credit: Jeff Swensen / Stringer / Getty Images 
Lawyers for Luigi Mangione, the man accused of assassinating United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York last year, have asked a New York judge to dismiss some of the charges against him, including the sole charge that carries the death penalty.
The lawyers also asked for certain evidence to be excluded from the trial. This includes statements he made to law-enforcement officers and his backpack, in which a gun and ammunition were found.
They allege Mangione was not read his rights before he was questioned by officers, and also that a warrant was not obtained before the backpack was searched.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges related to the killing of Brian Thompson on 4 December 2024, as he arrived at a Manhattan hotel for United Healthcare’s annual investor conference.
Last month, Mangione’s lawyers sought to have the federal charges against him dismissed, as well as the death penalty, after comments made by Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Bondi directed prosecutors to seek the death penalty for what she called a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.”
Although murder cases are usually tried in state courts, prosecutors have charged Mangione under a federal law on murders committed with firearms. This is the only charge for which Mangione could face the death penalty, which is not otherwise used in New York State.
In the middle of last month, a judge tossed terrorism charges against Mangione, ruling that while the killing of Brian Thompson appeared to be ideologically motivated, New York law requires proof of intent to intimidate or coerce a civilian population for terrorism charges, and prosecutors had failed to provide that proof.
Mangione’s “intentions were obvious from his acts, but his writings serve to make those intentions explicit,” prosecutors wrote in a filing, adding that the writings “convey one clear message: that the murder of Brian Thompson was intended to bring about revolutionary change to the healthcare industry.”
The words “delay,” “deny,” and “depose” were etched into bullet casings recovered by law enforcement, echoing a phrase commonly used to describe how major insurance companies avoid paying claims.
v
