Judge bars federal prosecutors from seeking the death penalty against accused CEO killer Luigi Mangione

A federal judge blocked prosecutors from seeking the death penalty against Luigi Mangione — accused of killing UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson in December 2024 — in an order issued on Friday, just before the 27-year-old appeared in her Manhattan courtroom.

The 39-page order from U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett dismisses two counts from Mangione’s federal indictment, including a charge of murder through the use of a firearm, which carries a potential death sentence. Garnett said the trial will proceed on counts one and four, which charge Mangione with violating federal stalking laws. The maximum penalty for both charges, if convicted, is life in prison without parole.

Garnett acknowledged in her order that her reasoning might seem "tortured and strange." But stalking is not a crime of violence, the judge said in federal court on Friday, so it cannot be a predicate to Thompson’s fatal shooting — or a capital offense. The judge said her decision was based on U.S. Supreme Court precedent intended to discourage prosecutors from using vague statutes to bring inappropriate charges.

Defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo told reporters after Friday’s hearing that Mangione and his legal team are "very relieved" that he does not face the death penalty.

"I just want to thank the court for this incredible decision," she said.

Dominic Gentile, an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, told the judge that prosecutors were not prepared to say if they would appeal her ruling. Garnett told Gentile the government had until Feb. 27 to make a decision.

Garnett’s order was a setback to the Justice Department’s efforts to revive use of the death penalty, but Garnett did rule that prosecutors can use evidence collected from Mangione’s arrest at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pa., five days after he allegedly shot Thompson, 50, outsideMidtown Manhattan hotel on Dec. 4, 2024, as the UnitedHealthcare official. Investigators said "delay," "deny" and "depose" were written on the ammunition, mocking words used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.

Authorities found a 9 mm handgun and a journal that included entries about Mangione’s desire to "wack" an insurance executive in his backpack when they arrested the murder suspect at the McDonald’s on Dec. 9, 2024. Mangione’s attorneys had argued that the evidence should be suppressed because police obtained it without a warrant.

Mangione, dressed in a tan jail jumpsuit, did not speak when he appeared in Garnett’s court shortly after the judge issued her written orders.

Garnett said she still plans to begin jury selection on Sept. 8, with opening statements by prosecutors and defense attorneys slated for Oct. 13.

"We are prepared to go to trial," Gentile told the judge.

Mangione faces state second-degree murder and other charges in New York and on Wednesday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office sent a letter urging the judge overseeing that case to set a July 1 trial date. Manhattan prosecutors can send her a letter if they want her to adjust her schedule, Garnett said.

"My view is that case is not my concern," the judge said in court. "Our trial date is firm."

Mangione has been hailed as a folk hero to many Americans frustrated with insurance companies and the high cost, and dozens of his supporters, as well as death penalty opponents, packed into Garnett’s courtroom. Following the hearing, Friedman Agnifilo thanked them for sending letters of support to Mangione, a Penn graduate from a prominent Maryland family.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered Manhattan federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty against Mangione last April. Former President Joe Biden declared a moratorium on the death penalty but President Donald Trump, who promised to bring back capital punishment during the 2024 presidential campaign, rescinded it when he returned to office.