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Mangione pleads not guilty to murder charges

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Defense says prosecutors breached death penalty protocol

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Prosecutors have until October 31 to respond

By Luc Cohen

NEW YORK, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Luigi Mangione's lawyers

urged a federal judge in New York on Saturday to block

prosecutors from seeking the death penalty for their client, who

is charged with killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

In a court filing, Mangione's lawyers argued that U.S.

Justice Department officials should be precluded from seeking

the death penalty because of actions that had violated his due

process rights. They said these included "staging a

dehumanizing, unconstitutional 'perp walk' where he was

televised, videotaped and photographed clambering out of a

helicopter in shackles on his way to his initial appearance."

"Because of the blatant, intentional and damaging nature of

this torrent of prejudice from multiple public officials, mainly

the United States Attorney General, from the inception of this

case through the grand jury vote on April 17, 2025, the death

penalty indictment against Mr. Mangione must be dismissed," the

motion stated.

Mangione has pleaded not guilty over the shooting death last

December 4 of Thompson, who led UnitedHealth Group's ( UNH )

insurance unit. Thompson was gunned down outside a Midtown

Manhattan hotel where company executives were attending an

investment conference.

Public officials condemned the killing, but many Americans

expressed sympathy for Mangione, 27, saying they shared his

frustration with steep U.S. healthcare costs and the power of

health insurers to refuse payment for some treatments.

Concern about escalating political violence in the U.S. has

grown since Thompson's killing, especially after last week's

assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Prosecutors with the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office have

until October 31 to argue for keeping the death penalty as an

option if Mangione is convicted. He faces charges of interstate

stalking and murder.

The case is overseen by U.S. District Judge Margaret

Garnett. In seeking the death penalty for Mangione, U.S.

Attorney General Pam Bondi on April 1 called Thompson's death "a

premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America."

Lawyers for Mangione have called that announcement

"unapologetically political," and said prosecutors breached

normal protocols by not first conducting a lengthy investigation

or giving defense lawyers a chance to push back.

Mangione's next federal court appearance is on December 5,

and Garnett has said she may then set a trial date for 2026.

If Garnett allows the death penalty and a jury convicts

Mangione of murder, the same jury would consider whether he

should be executed.

Mangione also faces nine state-level criminal counts,

including murder. On Tuesday, New York state judge Gregory Carro

dismissed two terrorism charges against Mangione.

New York's death penalty was declared unconstitutional in

2004, but the ban applies in state cases, not federal cases.

Mangione faces up to life in prison if convicted in his

state case. The next hearing there is scheduled for December 1,

and no trial date has been set.