According to a federal grand jury in New York, the state in which Luigi Mangione shot dead Brian Thompson, CEO of United Healthcare, 26-year old Mangione is now eligible for the death penalty.
He has been indicted for four federal counts: two counts of stalking, firearms offense and murder through the use of a firearm.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to killing Brian Thomas on December 4, but argued that he Justice Department made a “political, arbitrary, capricious” breach of protocol in seeking the death penalty in court.
But Attorney General Pam Bondi has already expressed an intention to follow through with the death penalty.
“If there was ever a death case, this is one,” said Pam Bondi on television.
Even before being indicted, Mangione was called a murdered by the mayor of New York – suggesting that there will be no possibility of a pardon at any point in the future.
“The stakes could not be higher. The United States government intends to kill Mr. Mangione as a political stunt,” says Mangione’s lawyer, who said that this announcement “prejudiced the grand jury process.”
Mangione also faces state charges in New Jersey – the fact that he crossed state lines made this a federal case. Usually US states deal with murder cases.
