A federal judge has ruled that prosecutors may not seek the death penalty against Luigi Mangione, the 27-year-old man accused of killing
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, dealing a major legal setback to the government in one of the most closely followed criminal cases
in the country.
Thompson, 50, was shot from behind as he walked to a midtown Manhattan hotel for UnitedHealth Group’s annual investor conference.
Surveillance footage showed a masked gunman fleeing the scene.
Judge Garnett, U.S. District, who joined the federal bench in early 2024 after a long career as a federal prosecutor and senior New York State official.
Judge Garnett issued the ruling Friday in the Southern District of New York, concluding that the federal murder charge as written is “technically flawed,” making capital punishment unavailable under the current indictment.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to both federal and state murder charges and could still face life in prison if convicted.
Jury selection in the federal trial is scheduled to begin September 8.
While the death penalty is now off the table federally, the case remains a high-stakes test of how the justice system handles politically charged violence at the intersection of corporate power and public anger.
