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Prosecutors said Friday that Luigi Mangione’s death penalty case in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson should proceed unimpeded, urging the judge to reject a defense effort to have the charges dismissed and the death penalty over Attorney General Pam Bondi’s public statements suggesting Mangione should be executed.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan also asked U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett to reject the defense’s effort to suppress some evidence collected during an arrest last year, including a 9mm handgun, a notebook in which authorities say Mangione described his intention to “destroy” an insurance executive and statements he made to police.
“Pretrial publicity, even if intense, is not in itself a constitutional flaw,” prosecutors wrote in a 121-page court filing, citing prior rulings. Supreme Court and the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals.
As for the evidence, which Mangione’s lawyers argue was collected without a warrant and without reading him his rights, prosecutors said police officers were justified in searching the suspect’s bag to make sure there were no dangerous items. His statements to authorities were made voluntarily and before he was taken into police custody, he said.
Prosecutors argued that rather than dismissing the case outright or preventing the government from seeking the death penalty, the defense’s concerns could be mitigated by carefully questioning potential jurors about their knowledge of the case and ensuring that Mangione’s rights were respected at trial.
Prosecutors said, “What the defendant presents as a constitutional threat is merely a repetition of arguments” that had been rejected in previous cases. “Nothing warrants dismissing the indictment or explicitly excluding any punishment authorized by Congress.”
Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty to state and federal murder charges.
A judge in September dismissed state terrorism charges against him, but upheld the rest of that case – including a charge of intentional homicide. He is due back in court in the state case on December 1 because his lawyers want to prevent prosecutors from using the same evidence seized upon his arrest.
Mangione’s next court date in the federal case is Jan. 9.
Thompson, 50, was murdered on December 4, 2024, when he arrived at manhattan Hotel for his company’s annual investor conference. Surveillance video shows a masked gunman shooting him in the back. Police say the ammunition was marked with “delay,” “deny” and “depose,” which mimics a phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.
gluten, tea Ivy League– educated descendant of a rich maryland The family was arrested five days later while having breakfast at a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona. pennsylvaniaAbout 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) west of Manhattan.
Bondy announced in April that she was instructing federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty, declaring even before Mangione was formally charged that the death penalty was needed for “a premeditated, cold-blooded murder that shocked America.”
At a September court hearing the defense argued about Bondi’s declaration – which he followed Instagram The post and TV appearance revealed that the decision was “based on politics, not merit.” He also said that his comments tainted the grand jury process that resulted in his indictment a few weeks later.
Bondi’s statements and other official actions – including a highly choreographed perp walk that saw Mangione escorted by armed officers to a Manhattan pier, and trump The administration’s violations of established death penalty procedures — “violated Mr. Mangione’s constitutional and statutory rights and fatally prejudiced this death penalty case,” his lawyers said.
trumpwho oversaw an unprecedented series of 13 executions at the end of his first term, has offered opinions about Mangione despite the court’s rules against any pre-trial publicity that might interfere with the right to a fair trial.
“He shot somebody in the back, it’s obvious whether you’re looking at me or I’m looking at you. He shot – he looked like a pure killer,” Trump said. fox news on September.
In their Friday filing, federal prosecutors countered that Bondi’s comments were irrelevant to the process because there is no evidence that the grand jurors who voted to indict Mangione were influenced.
The prosecution team said, “This argument, like others, is based on speculation rather than evidence.”
Nor has the defense cited any precedent, he added, “suggesting that public comment renders a grand jury incapable of fulfilling its constitutional role.”