Judge in case of CEO’s death in NY drops accusation that could lead to the death penalty

NEW YORK — A federal judge in Manhattan ruled on Friday that prosecutors will not be able to seek the death penalty in the trial of Luigi Mangione, the 27-year-old man accused of murdering the CEO of UnitedHealthcare in 2024.

Judge Margaret Garnett, of the US District Court, stated that the case will still go to trial on other charges, which carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, for the death of executive Brian Thompson.

Garnett said in his ruling that two counts of stalking against Mangione — one of which carried the maximum death penalty — did not meet the legal definition of a violent crime and therefore needed to be dismissed.

“Consequently,” the judge wrote, “the primary practical effect of the legal deficiencies” of these two charges and the court’s decision that they should be dismissed “is only to prevent the death penalty from being a possible punishment.”