UPDATED 1:14 P.M.
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty on Friday to federal charges of gunning down health insurance executive Brian Thompson, a day after prosecutors formally stated their intent to seek the death penalty.
Wearing a tan jail-issued t-shirt in a packed lower Manhattan courtroom, Mangione stood up as U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett asked for his plea.
“Not guilty,” Mangione said, leaning down to speak into a microphone on the defense table.
Mangione, 26, previously pleaded not guilty to a separate set of New York state charges over the December 4 killing of Thompson, the former CEO of UnitedHealth Group’s insurance unit UnitedHealthcare.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier this month announced that the Justice Department would seek the death penalty for Mangione. The Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office formalized their intent in a Thursday night court filing.
Mangione’s lawyers have said Bondi’s April 1 announcement was “unapologetically political” and breached government protocols for death penalty decisions.
Garnett gave the defense until June 27 to file a legal brief laying out their arguments as to why the government should be barred from pursuing capital punishment. The judge set Mangione’s next court date for December 5, and said she would aim for a trial date some time next year.
Garnett also reminded the lawyers about strict limits on public statements that could impede Mangione’s right to a fair trial. She asked the prosecutors to convey her message to Jay Clayton, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, and ask that he pass it along to Bondi.
The brazen shooting of Thompson outside a midtown Manhattan hotel, where the company had gathered for an investor conference, and the ensuing five-day manhunt, captivated Americans.
Authorities say the words “deny,” “delay,” and “depose” – a phrase that echoes tactics some accuse health insurers of using to avoid paying out claims – were found written on shell casings at the crime scene.
While public officials condemned the killing, some Americans have cheered Mangione, saying he drew attention to steep U.S. healthcare costs and the power of health insurers to refuse payment for some treatments.
In justifying their decision to seek the death penalty, prosecutors wrote in a Thursday night court filing that Mangione “presents a future danger because he expressed an intent to target an entire industry, and rally political and social opposition to that industry, by engaging in an act of lethal violence.”
If Mangione is convicted in the federal case, the jury would determine in a separate phase of the trial whether to recommend the death penalty. Any such recommendation must be unanimous, and the judge would be required to impose it.
Mangione is currently being held in federal lockup in Brooklyn.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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NEW YORK (Reuters) -U.S. prosecutors formally told a court on Thursday that they plan to seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione, who is accused of murdering a UnitedHealth Group executive in New York last year.
Mangione, 26, is due to appear in Manhattan federal court for an arraignment on Friday. He has pleaded not guilty to a separate New York state indictment he faces over the murder of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth’s insurance division.
While public officials condemned the killing, some Americans have cheered Mangione, saying he drew attention to steep U.S. healthcare costs and the power of health insurers to refuse payment for some treatments.
In justifying their decision, prosecutors wrote in their filing that Mangione “presents a future danger because he expressed an intent to target an entire industry, and rally political and social opposition to that industry, by engaging in an act of lethal violence.”
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier this month announced that the Justice Department would seek the death penalty for Mangione. Thursday’s court filing by the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office formalizes prosecutors’ intent to impose the death penalty.
Mangione’s lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. They have said Bondi’s April 1 announcement was “unapologetically political” and breached government protocols for death penalty decisions.
If Mangione is convicted in the federal case, the jury would determine in a separate phase of the trial whether to recommend the death penalty. Any such recommendation must be unanimous, and the judge would be required to impose it.
Thompson was shot dead on December 4 outside a hotel in Midtown Manhattan, where the company was gathering for an investor conference. The brazen killing and ensuing five-day manhunt captivated Americans.
Police officers in Altoona, Pennsylvania, found Mangione with a 9-millimeter pistol and silencer, clothing that matched the apparel worn by Thompson’s shooter in surveillance footage, and a notebook describing an intent to “wack” an insurance company CEO, according to a court filing.
Mangione is currently being held in federal lockup in Brooklyn.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Jacqueline Wong)
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