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lawyers For luigi mangione asked a new york A federal judge on Saturday dismissed some criminal charges from a federal indictment brought against him in the December murder of the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, including the only case for which he could face the death penalty.
In papers filed in Manhattan federal court, lawyers said prosecutors should also be prevented from using statements he made to law enforcement officers and his backpack, where a gun and ammunition were found.
They said Mangione was not informed of his rights before being questioned by law enforcement officers, after which he was arrested brian thompson He was shot as he arrived at a Manhattan hotel for an investor conference.
He said officers did not obtain a warrant before searching Mangione’s backpack.
Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges in the Dec. 4 fatal shooting of Brian Thompson as he arrived at a Manhattan hotel for his company’s annual investor conference.
A multi-state manhunt began after the murder, when the suspected shooter fled the scene and drove to Central Park on a bike before taking a taxi to a bus depot that serves several nearby states.
Five days later, police arrested Mangione based on a tip from a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 233 miles (375 kilometers) away. Since then he has been detained without bail.
Last month, Mangione’s attorneys requested that his federal charges be dismissed and that the death sentence be dropped as a result of the U.S. Attorney General’s public comments. palm bondiIn April, Bondy instructed prosecutors in New York to seek the death penalty, calling Thompson’s murder a “premeditated, ruthless murder that shocked America.”
Murder cases are usually heard in state courts, but prosecutors also charged Mangione under a federal law on murders committed with firearms as part of other “crimes of violence.” This is the only charge for which Mangione could face the death penalty, as it is not used in New York State.
Papers filed early Saturday morning argued that the charge should be dismissed because prosecutors failed to identify other crimes that would be necessary to convict him, saying the other crime alleged — stalking — is not a crime of violence.
The murder and its aftermath have captured the American imagination, sparking a wave of outrage and online vitriol toward American health insurers, while upsetting corporate executives worried about safety.
After the murder, investigators found the words “delay,” “deny” and “remove” written in permanent marker on ammunition at the scene. These words mimic the phrase used by critics of the insurance industry.