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.
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 have said Bondi’s April 1 announcement was “unapologetically political” and breached government protocols for death penalty decisions.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen; Editing by Sandra Maler and Christopher Cushing)
Comments