Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty as prosecutors seek death penalty

By Luc Cohen

Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty on Friday to federal charges of gunning down health insurance executive Brian Thompson, a day after prosecutors formally stated their intent to seek the death penalty.

Wearing a tan jail-issued t-shirt in a packed lower Manhattan courtroom, Mangione stood up as U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett asked for his plea.

"Not guilty," Mangione said, leaning down to speak into a microphone on the defense table.

Mangione, 26, previously pleaded not guilty to a separate set of New York state charges over the December 4 killing of Thompson, the former CEO of UnitedHealth Group's insurance unit UnitedHealthcare.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier this month announced that the Justice Department would seek the death penalty for Mangione. The Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office formalized their intent in a Thursday night court filing.

Mangione's lawyers have said Bondi's April 1 announcement was "unapologetically political" and breached government protocols for death penalty decisions.

Garnett gave the defense until June 27 to file a legal brief laying out their arguments as to why the government should be barred from pursuing capital punishment. The judge set Mangione's next court date for December 5, and said she would aim for a trial date some time next year.

Garnett also reminded the lawyers about strict limits on public statements that could impede Mangione's right to a fair trial. She asked the prosecutors to convey her message to Jay Clayton, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, and ask that he pass it along to Bondi.

The brazen shooting of Thompson outside a midtown Manhattan hotel, where the company had gathered for an investor conference, and the ensuing five-day manhunt, captivated Americans.

Authorities say the words "deny," "delay," and "depose" - a phrase that echoes tactics some accuse health insurers of using to avoid paying out claims - were found written on shell casings at the crime scene.

While public officials condemned the killing, some Americans have cheered Mangione, saying he drew attention to steep U.S. healthcare costs and the power of health insurers to refuse payment for some treatments.

In justifying their decision to seek the death penalty, prosecutors wrote in a Thursday night court filing that Mangione "presents a future danger because he expressed an intent to target an entire industry, and rally political and social opposition to that industry, by engaging in an act of lethal violence."

If Mangione is convicted in the federal case, the jury would determine in a separate phase of the trial whether to recommend the death penalty. Any such recommendation must be unanimous, and the judge would be required to impose it.

Mangione is currently being held in federal lockup in Brooklyn.