Luigi Mangione will not face the death penalty over alleged killing of healthcare boss

Luigi Mangione will not face the death penalty if convicted in the 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive, after a federal judge dismissed death-eligible charges from his indictment on Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett ruled that prosecutors failed to meet the legal requirements needed to pursue capital punishment. She threw out the federal murder charge, finding it did not qualify as a death-eligible offense because it relied on an underlying “crime of violence” that was not legally sufficient.

Prosecutors argued the killing occurred in connection with two stalking offenses, but Garnett said those charges did not meet the statutory definition of violent crimes under federal law.

The case will still proceed to trial on remaining federal counts, which carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Garnett scheduled the federal trial to begin in October.

Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty to both state and federal charges related to the killing.