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Luigi Mangione, the man who is accused of gunning down former UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, will not face the death penalty after prosecutors decided not to appeal a Manhattan judge\u2019s ruling.<\/p>\n
The Department of Justice said in a letter<\/a> Friday that it \u201cwill not seek interlocutory review\u201d of the judge\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n Last month, U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett dismissed two of the four charges against Mangione, including use of a firearm to commit murder, which made him eligible for the death penalty.<\/p>\n Garnett said she dismissed the charges \u201csolely to preclude the death penalty as an available punishment when the jury determines if the Defendant caused Brian Thompson\u2019s death,\u201d The Daily Wire reported<\/a> at the time.<\/p>\n The federal charge against Mangione that made him eligible for the death penalty accused him of \u201cusing a firearm to commit murder in furtherance of a crime of violence.\u201d<\/p>\n In her ruling, Garnett said the stalking offense did not constitute a \u201ccrime of violence,\u201d and prosecutors would need to show Mangione killed Thompson while committing another \u201ccrime of violence,\u201d NBC reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mangione still faces two counts of interstate stalking. If convicted, he would face a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.<\/p>\n Mangione has pleaded not guilty to all federal and state charges.<\/p>\n U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi previously directed prosecutors to seek the death penalty last year after Mangione was arrested for the murder of Thompson.<\/p>\n \u201cLuigi Mangione\u2019s murder of Brian Thompson \u2014 an innocent man and father of two young children \u2014 was a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America,\u201d Bondi said at the time.<\/p>\n Thompson was gunned down from behind in Midtown Manhattan on December 4, 2024, as he was walking to a hotel during his company\u2019s annual investor conference. Mangione\u2019s fingerprints allegedly matched those found on shell casings at the murder scene.<\/p>\n Mangione was arrested at a McDonald\u2019s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, following a five-day manhunt, and police found a firearm, suppressor, and what appeared to be a manifesto in the man\u2019s backpack.<\/p>\n Opening arguments for the trial are scheduled to begin in October, with jury selection set for September 8.<\/p>\n In addition to the federal charges, Mangione faces nine counts, including second-degree murder, in a separate state case scheduled to begin June 8, NBC reported.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n