US: Luigi Mangione’s lawyers request federal judge to block Justice Department from seeking death penalty

WASHINGTON, DC: Lawyers for Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing United Healthcare’s CEO Brian Thompson, have requested a federal judge to stop the US Justice Department from seeking the death penalty, terming the decision a “political stunt,” CNN reported.

Mangione’s lawyers have sought court intervention, saying that the Justice Department should be blocked from seeking the death penalty as it did not follow certain protocols and breached Mangione’s due process. The request of his lawyers comes days after US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the Justice Department would pursue the death penalty in Mangione’s case.

They have said that Bondi’s public statement tainted the grand jury pool. “The stakes could not be higher. The United States government intends to kill Mr. Mangione as a political stunt,” Luigi Mangione’s attorneys wrote to the judge.

They further stated, “Mr. Mangione’s counsel asked for three months to prepare a fulsome mitigation submission to the Department of Justice’s Capital Committee and was ignored.”

Mangione (26) is facing state and federal murder charges for allegedly killing Thompson outside a hotel in midtown Manhattan in March. He has pleaded not guilty to the state charges, CNN reported.

Luigi Mangione was charged in a federal criminal complaint. However, he has not yet been indicted on federal charges. Mangione’s lawyers said they argued against the death penalty in a “hastily assembled” meeting with federal prosecutors in New York during the final days of the Biden government. However, they were later told that the Capital Case committee had not yet made a decision.

His lawyers said they then requested that they be given three months to make a fuller submission with mitigating factors but were told a decision would be made before then.

In the filing, Mangione’s lawyers said, “Ultimately, any mitigation would have fallen on deaf ears in any event, as the Attorney General was plainly concerned only with ‘the President’s directive’ and with the ‘Make America Safe’ policies of the administration instead of the facts of this case,” CNN reported.

On April 1, Bondi directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione, who is accused of murdering Thompson, describing the killing as a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked the nation.”

In a statement, Bondi said, “Luigi Mangione’s murder of Brian Thompson — an innocent man and father of two young children — was a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America. After careful consideration, I have directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in this case as we carry out President Trump’s agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again.”

According to the US Department of Justice, Mangione’s actions involved substantial planning and premeditation.”As alleged, Luigi Mangione stalked and murdered UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson on Dec. 4, 2024. The murder was an act of political violence. Mangione’s actions involved substantial planning and premeditation and because the murder took place in public with bystanders nearby, may have posed grave risk of death to additional persons,” the statement read.

“Following federal murder charges handed down on Dec. 19, 2024, Attorney General Bondi has now directed Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky to seek the death penalty in this case,” it added.

Since Bondi’s announcement, donations to Mangione’s legal defence fund have poured in. His supporters have contributed more than USD 850,000 in total, with many recent donations citing the Justice Department’s decision to seek the death penalty. (ANI)