Prosecutor directs death sentence against Luigi Mangione in UnitedHealthCare CEO KILLING
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Tuesday she directed federal prosecutors to sentence Luigi Mangione to death, a man accused of shooting UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson outside a hotel in New York City on December 4 last year.
Mangione, 26, faces separate federal and state murder charges for the killings, which has disturbed the business community and has also sparked criticism from health insurance critics. Federal charges include murder by using a firearm that brings the possibility of death penalty. The state’s charges put the biggest punishment for life in prison.
Prosecutors said the two cases will be held on a parallel track and the state’s allegations are expected to be tried first. It is not clear whether Bundy’s death penalty announcement will change the order to hear the case.
“Luigi Mangione murdered an innocent man, and father of two, Brian Thompson, a premeditated, cold-blooded assassin that shocked the United States,” Bondy said in a statement.
“After careful consideration, I directed federal prosecutors to seek death penalty in this case because we enforce President Trump’s agenda to stop violent crimes and keep the United States safe again.”
The information seeking comments was left to a spokesperson for Mangione’s attorney.
Mangione pleaded not guilty
Mangione pleaded not guilty to the state indictment and did not plead guilty to federal charges.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who oversees unprecedented executions at the end of his first term, signed an executive order on January 20 that forced the Justice Department to seek the death penalty in applicable federal cases.
His predecessor, Joe Biden, suspended federal executions.
Luigi Mangione, a man accused of fatal shooting UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson, pleaded not guilty Monday to state murder and terror charges.
Thompson, 50, was ambushed and shot on the sidewalk while attending an investor meeting at a hotel in Midtown Manhattan.
Mangione was arrested five days later while having breakfast at McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania on December 9.
Police said he was carrying a gun that matched the gun used in the shooting and the fake ID. Authorities said he also brought a notebook to express hostility to the health insurance industry, especially wealthy executives.
United Healthcare is the largest health insurer in the U.S., although the company said that Mangione was never a customer.
Prosecutors said the entry on the notebook was an August 2024 statement that “the goal is insurance” because “it checks every box” and that one from October described the intent of the insurer CEO.
