The US Department of Justice has announced it will seek the death penalty against Luigi Mangione, who is accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City last December. The decision, announced by Attorney General Pam Bondi on Tuesday, follows President Donald Trump’s directive to reinstate federal executions.
Bondi described the killing as 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,” she said in a statement.
Thompson, CEO of the largest health insurance payer in the United States, was shot outside the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan on December 4 while heading to an investor meeting for UnitedHealth Group. Mangione was arrested five days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where police found him in possession of a pistol, silencer, ammunition, fake IDs, and a US passport.
Mangione’s lawyer, Karen Agnifilo, strongly criticized the Justice Department’s decision, calling it “barbaric.”
“By seeking to murder Luigi Mangione, the Justice Department has moved from the dysfunctional to the barbaric,” Agnifilo said in a statement. “Their decision to execute Luigi is political and goes against the recommendation of the local federal prosecutors, the law, and historical precedent.”
She also accused the government of “defending the broken, immoral, and murderous healthcare industry that continues to terrorize the American people.”
Mangione, 26, faces multiple federal charges, including murder, stalking, and firearms violations. He is being prosecuted in US District Court in Manhattan and remains in custody without bail. Although he has not yet entered a plea in the federal case, he has pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges in Manhattan Supreme Court, a trial-level state court. If convicted in state court, he faces a maximum sentence of life without parole, as New York does not have the death penalty.
Bondi’s decision comes two months after Trump signed an executive order reinstating the federal death penalty. The order directed the attorney general to pursue capital punishment for crimes deemed severe enough to warrant it.
The DOJ’s move marks a shift from the policy under the Biden administration, which imposed a moratorium on federal executions in mid-2021.
In February, US District Judge Katherine Parker appointed a death penalty expert to Mangione’s defense team at the request of the Federal Defenders of New York, an independent organization that represents indigent defendants.
In its statement, the DOJ asserted that Thompson’s murder was “an act of political violence.” It claimed Mangione planned the killing to spark public debate about the healthcare industry.
“Mangione’s actions involved substantial planning and premeditation and, because the murder took place in public with bystanders nearby, may have posed a grave risk of death to additional persons,” the DOJ statement said.
The case is expected to draw significant legal and political attention as federal prosecutors move forward with their pursuit of the death penalty.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ