Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealth Group chief executive Brian Thompson, walks on the day of an arraignment hearing, at New York Supreme Court in New York City, U.S. December 23, 2024.
Eduardo Munoz | Reuters
Luigi Mangione will not face a possible death penalty sentence in the New York federal criminal case where he is charged with killing health insurance CEO Brian Thompson, a judge ruled Friday.
Manhattan U.S. District Court Judge Margaret Garnett, in an order on Friday, dismissed two of the four criminal counts Mangione faced in the case.
The potential maximum sentence for the remaining two counts for causing the UnitedHealthcare executive Thompson’s death under federal stalking laws in December 2024 on a midtown Manhattan street is “life in prison without parole,” Garnett noted.
The third count, which the judge tossed out, accused Mangione of the murder of Thompson through the use of a firearm during that alleged stalking, “is a capital-eligible offense,” the judge wrote. The fourth count, which was also dismissed, accused Mangione of the use of a firearm equipped with a silencer during the stalking.
“The crimes charged in Counts Three and Four require that the stalking crimes in Count One and Two meet the federal statutory definition of ‘crimes of violence’ as a matter of law,” Garnett wrote. “The Defendant has moved to dismiss Counts Three and Four on that ground that this requirement is not satisfied.”
“The motion is GRANTED.”
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