US federal prosecutors to seek death penalty in healthcare executive murder case – JURIST
US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Tuesday that federal prosecutors will seek the death penalty against Luigi Mangione, the alleged shooter of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Bondi described Mangione’s alleged act as a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination” and suggested the choice to pursue capital punishment appropriately aligns with the Trump administration’s hard-on-crime agenda.
“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,” the statement read.
Mangione’s lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo released a statement following Bondi’s announcement, condemning the decision:
[T]he Justice Department has moved from the dysfunctional to the barbaric. Their decision to execute Luigi is political and goes against the recommendation of the local federal prosecutors, the law, and historical precedent. While claiming to protect against murder, the federal government moves to commit the pre-meditated, state-sponsored murder of Luigi.
Friedman Agnifilo additionally claimed the decision defended “the broken, immoral, and murderous healthcare industry that continues to terrorize the American people.”
The announcement marks the first time the federal government has sought the death penalty during President Trump’s second term. In 2019, then-Attorney General William Barr reinstated the practice on the federal level after a 17-year hiatus. The following year, a Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for 13 executions of federally convicted inmates within the last six months of Trump’s first term.
The 26-year-old Mangione is accused of shooting and killing healthcare CEO Thompson on December 4 outside a Manhattan hotel. The alleged homicide was quickly propelled into the national spotlight, and many Americans have voiced support for Mangione, claiming his alleged actions constitute a political act of resistance against predatory healthcare industry practices. Mangione has received nearly $800,000 from online donors since his arrest.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to multiple state and federal charges.
