Explainer-What charges does Luigi Mangione face over UnitedHealth executive killing?

By Luc Cohen

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the Dec. 4 killing of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) executive Brian Thompson, faces two separate sets of murder charges in state and federal court in New York.

Below is an explanation of the charges, and where the case will go from here: 

WHAT CHARGES DOES MANGIONE FACE IN FEDERAL COURT?

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan on Thursday charged Mangione, 26, with one count of murder through use of a firearm, one count of using a firearm silencer during a violent crime, and two counts of interstate stalking for allegedly surveilling Thompson. 

Those charges were based on a complaint filed by the FBI. Prosecutors may seek a grand jury indictment of Mangione, which could contain different charges. 

WHAT COULD THE CONSEQUENCES OF THOSE CHARGES BE?

The federal murder charge is eligible for the death penalty, should prosecutors seek it. Otherwise, Mangione could face life in prison if convicted on the murder charge, and a mandatory 30-year sentence if convicted of using a silencer.

The possibility of the death penalty may provide an incentive for Mangione to seek a plea agreement, said Anna Cominsky, a professor at New York Law School. 

“There is no greater bargaining chip,” Cominsky said. 

HOW WOULD A DEATH PENALTY CASE WORK? 

Federal prosecutors would need the approval of the U.S. attorney general to seek the death penalty. A potential trial would proceed in two phases: one to determine Mangione’s guilt, and, if he is found guilty, a separate trial for a jury to decide whether to sentence him to death. 

Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma, a New York defense lawyer, said prosecutors more frequently seek the death penalty for crimes with multiple victims or when law enforcement officers are killed. 

Last year, a federal jury in Manhattan deadlocked on whether to impose the death penalty on Sayfullo Saipov, who was convicted of killing eight people and injuring 12 during a 2017 Manhattan attack inspired by Islamic State. Saipov was instead sentenced to eight consecutive terms of life imprisonment.

“It’s hard to see a jury voting for death in this case,” Margulis-Ohnuma said.   

WHAT ARE THE STATE CHARGES AND THEIR POTENTIAL PUNISHMENTS? 

On Tuesday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced that his office had secured an 11-count grand jury indictment of Mangione on charges including first degree murder and murder as an act of terrorism. 

Mangione could face life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted on all the state charges. New York’s highest state court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional in 2004. Despite the state ban, federal prosecutors are still permitted to seek executions for federal cases.

HOW WILL THE TWO CASES ADVANCE? 

The state case is currently expected to proceed to trial before the federal case, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office said. Bragg said on Thursday that there is precedent for state and federal prosecutions proceeding as parallel matters. 

Mangione’s lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo said the two cases appear to be in conflict, since the state case includes a terrorism charge accusing Mangione of seeking to intimidate a population or influence policy, and the federal case centers on his allegedly stalking and killing an individual. 

“These are two completely different theories,” Friedman Agnifilo said in court. “These seem like different cases.”