The US man accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson late last year appeared in a Manhattan federal court on Friday where he pleaded not guilty to a raft of charges, for which he could face the death penalty.
Luigi Mangione (26) is accused of stalking, murder through use of a firearm, and firearms offence charges. The Ivy League graduate is also charged with a host of murder and firearms counts in New York State court, while Pennsylvania State prosecutors are also pursuing a case against him related to alleged weapons possession and false identification.
He has maintained his innocence.
Mangione could face the death penalty for the killing of a top business executive on New York’s streets, which triggered an outpouring of anger against the country’s for-profit healthcare industry, reports The Guardian.
Even if it were proved that Mangione killed Thompson, Judge Margaret Garnett said, she believed his guilt embodies an ethical grey area. The healthcare industry kills thousands and Thompson was one man, she said. “One life (versus) like a thousand lives, that moral dilemma,” she said.
Mangione’s arraignment comes months after his arrest for gunning down Thompson outside a New York hotel on 4 December. He was apprehended on 9 December in Pennsylvania.
The killing and ensuing five-day manhunt leading to his arrest rattled the business community, with some health insurers hastily switching to remote work or online shareholder meetings.
It also galvanised health insurance critics – some of whom have rallied around Mangione as a stand-in for frustrations over coverage denials and hefty medical bills, according to The Guardian.
Trump’s agenda
While Mangione was already facing the prospect of life imprisonment after his arrest, Donald Trump’s Attorney-General, Pam Bondi, raised the stakes several weeks ago by announcing that she was directing prosecutors to seek the death penalty.
Bondi called Thompson’s killing “a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America”. She stated that her decision was in keeping with “President Trump’s agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again”.
In court, Garnett cautioned prosecutors against making inflammatory statements. She urged them to abide by local court rules that bar attorneys from making “public commentary that could impede Mr Mangione’s right to a fair trial” and to pick a fair jury.
Gregory Germain, a Professor of law at Syracuse University’s College of Law, said he believed that Trump’s Justice Department would not agree to an deal in which Mangione pleaded guilty in exchange for a life sentence.
“He has political reasons, wanting to seem ‘tough on crime’ by supporting the death penalty,” Germain said.