(NEW YORK) — Luigi Mangione asked a federal judge in New York on Friday to stop the government from seeking the death penalty if he’s convicted of federal charges related to the shooting death of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, arguing the Justice Department made a “political, arbitrary, capricious” breach of protocol.
“When the United States plans to kill one of its citizens, it must follow statutory and internal procedures,” defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo said. “Mangione seeks Court intervention now not merely because the Government has failed to follow these procedures but because it has abandoned them.”
The defense motion followed a press release by Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier this month that said she ordered the death penalty for Mangione to “carry out President Trump’s agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again.”
The defense said it was never given the chance to argue for a reprieve.
“The stakes could not be higher. The United States government intends to kill Mr. Mangione as a political stunt,” the defense said. “We appreciate, and will address, the province and discretion of the Executive Branch of government, and how, in the usual course, courts defer to the Executive’s established procedures. But the Attorney General’s actions and public statements in this case have not followed the usual course. Because the Attorney General has chosen to proceed in this way, Mr. Mangione’s Due Process rights have already been violated and the manner in which the Government has acted has prejudiced the grand jury pool and has corrupted the grand jury process.”
Agnifilo argued Bondi’s statement, issued before Mangione has been indicted on federal charges, was improper and “prejudiced the grand jury process.” She asked the judge to preclude the government from seeking the death penalty and she demanded the government turn over documents and notes that relate to the attorney general’s directive.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York declined to comment.
Mangione is accused of gunning down Thompson outside a Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan as the CEO headed to an investors conference on Dec. 4. He was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, five days after the murder.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to state charges.
He hasn’t entered a plea to federal charges. He is due back in federal court next week.
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