Lawyers for Luigi Mangione are again asking a federal judge in New York to block the Justice Department's attempt to seek the death penalty if he is convicted in the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, arguing that the government is pursuing capital punishment for political purposes and that top officials have inappropriately discussed the proceedings outside of court.
Mangione, a 27-year-old former Ivy Leaguer from a wealthy Maryland family, allegedly stalked Thompson to New York City, then shot him in the back on a sidewalk just steps from a hotel where the victim was supposed to meet Wall Street investors for a shareholder conference later that morning.
After a photo of the grinning suspect went viral, police found him in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where he was arrested five days after the Dec. 4 ambush.
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In a 118-page motion filed Saturday, Mangione's lawyers accused the Trump administration of using his case to launch the president's renewed push to expand the use of capital punishment and "to demonstrate its loathing of the prior administration" after former President Joe Biden removed 37 out of 40 inmates from the federal death row before leaving office.
"Luigi Mangione is a 27-year-old Italian-American dual citizen whose beautiful, promising life has been derailed," six attorneys for Mangione claimed in the motion. "Born in Maryland into a large, close, loving family, he is now fighting for his life against a government that seeks to execute him."
They also took issue with how Attorney General Pam Bondi has discussed the case and the Justice Department's push for capital punishment online and in the media.
In particular, they singled out a comment she made on "Fox News Sunday" in April: "I was a capital prosecutor. I tried death penalty cases throughout my career. If there was ever a death case, this is one."
"This statement alone is enough to prejudice the entirety of this case," Mangione's lawyers wrote. "The Attorney General of the United States is telling the public that based on her personal experience as a capital prosecutor who tried death penalty cases throughout her career that Mangione is guilty and should be executed."
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According to his lawyers, the Justice Department and law enforcement leaders have "serially violated his constitutional rights." They claim he was "overcharged" with a death penalty-eligible offense and noted that a New York judge recently threw out state-level terror charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
He now faces a top state charge of second-degree murder. Federally, he is accused of stalking, murder through use of a firearm and other gun charges.
They identified "six ways" they say his constitutional rights have been violated:
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Additionally, the defense accused New York City leaders of overhyping and overcharging the state case, leaking details about a "manifesto," a term they don't want used, and anti-health insurance industry messages written on bullet casings connected to the murder.
The defense is asking for the court to dismiss the federal indictment outright, block the government from seeking the death penalty or strike the Justice Department's notice of intent to seek the death penalty.
Federal prosecutors previously shot back that the defense has no authority over how prosecutors present evidence to a grand jury.
Thompson, 50, was a Minnesota father of two visiting New York City for a publicly announced shareholder conference.
Mangione faces charges in New York, Pennsylvania and federal court in connection with the slaying and the suspected murder weapon, which had 3D-printed parts. He has pleaded not guilty.
