BREAKING: Decide Guidelines On Luigi Mangione Doubtlessly Going through De*th Penalty
A federal judge ruled on Friday that Luigi Mangione will not face the death penalty for allegedly killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024.
“U.S. District Judge Margaret M. Garnett dismissed two of the four federal counts against Mangione: murder through use of a firearm, which carries a potential death sentence, and a related firearms offense,” NBC News reports.
Mangione still faces two federal stalking counts, which carry a maximum prison sentence of life without the possibility of parole.
Luigi Mangione will not face the death penalty for allegedly killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, judge rules.https://t.co/Dc9wsbPrir pic.twitter.com/LmqbG6YFEJ
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) January 30, 2026
NBC News has more:
Garnett ruled that the murder charge was technically flawed. It can be used only in tandem with a “crime of violence.” The prosecution argued that Mangione’s alleged stalking of Thompson met that standard. Garnett disagreed.
“The analysis contained in the balance of this opinion may strike the average person — and indeed many lawyers and judges — as tortured and strange, and the result may seem contrary to our intuitions about the criminal law,” Garnett wrote.
“But it represents the Court’s committed effort to faithfully apply the dictates of the Supreme Court to the charges in this case,” the federal judge added. The law must be the Court’s only concern.”
The 27-year-old is accused of gunning down Thompson outside a midtown Manhattan hotel on Dec. 4, 2024, as the executive was heading to an early-morning investor conference. The killing set off a frantic manhunt across the region.
Garnett also ruled that Mangione’s federal trial can feature evidence seized from the backpack he was wearing when he was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania on Dec. 9, 2024.
The judge’s ruling is a major setback for prosecutors who sought the death penalty against Mangione.
The Justice Department called the alleged killing a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America,” NBC News stated.
Newer: No death penalty for Luigi Mangione — a federal judge dropped Counts 3 and 4 of the indictment.
More coming @CourthouseNews pic.twitter.com/PGkMmf2M6U
— Erik Uebelacker (@Uebey) January 30, 2026
CNN noted:
Law enforcement seized several items from Mangione’s backpack, including a handgun, a loaded magazine and a red notebook – key pieces of evidence that authorities have said tie him to the killing.
Mangione’s attorneys had argued for the evidence to be barred from trial, contending the search of their client’s backpack was illegal because they had not yet obtained a warrant and there was no immediate threat to justify a warrantless search.
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at 100 Percent Fed Up.
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