New York / Washington: US prosecutor Pamela Bondi ordered federal prosecutors to ask for the death penalty for Luigi Mangione, the man accused of having shot and killed Brian ThompsonThe CEO of the Unitedhealth Group insurance division in New York last year.
In a statement, Mangione's lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo called the decision to ask for the “barbaric” death penalty.
“While claiming to protect against murder, the federal government is moving to commit the pre-household murder and sponsored by the state of Luigi,” said Friedman Agnifilo.
Mangione, 26, pleaded not guilty of the state of New York state as a murder as a terrorism and arms offenses. He could incur prison for life without parole if it was found guilty in this case. New York does not have the death for state accusations.
Mangione faces a parallel federal indictment before the Manhattan Federal Court for the murder of Thompson. He could face the death penalty if he was found guilty in this case. He has not yet been invited to plead for the federal accusations.
If Mangione is condemned in the federal case, the jury would determine in a separate phase of the trial to recommend the death penalty. Such a recommendation must be unanimous and the judge would be required to impose it.
Thompson was shot dead on December 4 outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel, where the company gathered for a conference on investors.
“The murder by Luigi Mangione by Brian Thompson – an innocent man and father of two young children – was a premeditated composure assassination that shocked America,” Bondi said in a statement.
