Luigi Mangione will no longer face the death penalty after a New York federal judge dismissed the charges that were eligible for capital punishment in the case accusing him of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. US District Judge Margaret Garnett ruled on Friday that counts three and four, including murder through use of a firearm and a weapons charge, were legally incompatible with the stalking charges that remain.
Mangione, 27, had pleaded not guilty to murder, weapons, and stalking-related charges in the federal case. He now faces two federal stalking counts, each carrying a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole. Judge Garnett noted that the dismissal of the capital-eligible count effectively forecloses the death penalty as an available punishment for the jury to consider at trial.
Mangione's lawyers had requested the dismissal of some charges in October, including the only count that could have led to the death penalty. The judge agreed, stating that the stalking charges did not qualify as 'crimes of violence' under Supreme Court precedents because any use of force could be achieved through reckless rather than intentional conduct.
Prosecutors have not yet announced whether they will appeal the ruling. Mangione also faces separate charges in Manhattan state court, to which he has pleaded not guilty. The federal trial is scheduled to begin with jury selection on 8 September.
