Why is Luigi Mangione only facing second-degree murder over UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting?
Luigi Mangione, 26, has been charged over the brazen shooting of health insurance executive Brian Thompson
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The man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in a brazen shooting on a busy Manhattan street has been charged with murder in the second degree.
Luigi Mangione, 26, was arrested with a 3D-printed gun in a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday morning following a six-day manhunt for the hooded shooter who gunned down the healthcare executive on a Manhattan street.
The gun matches three shell casings found at the crime scene and marked with “deny,” “defend” and “depose”, police officials said this week.
Mangione also possessed a silencer, a 262-word manifesto, a spiral notebook containing a “to-do list”, and several false ID cards.
Mr Thompson, 50, was shot in the back on 4 December outside the New York Hilton Midtown, with surveillance footage showing a dark-hooded figure with a grey backpack firing from several feet away.
Since the shooting, the high-profile killing has gripped international headlines. Mangione is currently being held in a Pennsylvania jail without bond as he awaits extradition to New York where he faces a murder charge. He also faces charges for gun law violations in Pennsylvania.
However, under New York law, he is only charged with murder in the second degree, which carries a penalty of 15 years to life in prison. This is because the tougher first-degree murder charge only applies to a narrow list of aggravating circumstances, including when the victim is a judge, a police officer or a first responder, or when the killing involves a murder-for-hire or an intent to commit terrorism, according to CNN.
It is not yet known if prosecutors will consider upgrading the charge to first-degree murder if new details in the case emerge, or if federal prosecutors decide to bring charges against the suspect.
David Shapiro, a lecturer at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told CNN that if prosecutors can find evidence the plot was inspired by terrorism this could bump-up the charge.
“Terrorism is defined, basically, as creating, intimidating the civilian population or influencing a government unit to act in a certain way,” he said.
“You can easily imagine a set of facts where Mangione was attempting to do the same or did the same. I’m sure there are a host of insurance company executives that are afraid of copycats.”
If the charge remains second-degree, Mangione has the option to argue an "affirmative defense" which could reduce the charge to first-degree manslaughter, which carries a maximum of 25 years in prison.
The suspect could also be looking at federal charges with stiffer penalties if officials find he travelled across state lines to commit an act of violence, according to former federal and state prosecutor Elie Honig.
Mangione is understood to have arrived in New York days before Mr Thompson’s killing via a Greyhound bus that originated in Atlanta, according to reports.
After his arrest, Mangione was charged and arraigned on five Pennsylvania offenses including forgery, falsely identifying himself, and carrying a gun without a license.
On Monday, he made a brief appearance at the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg where he was informed of the charges against him and said he understood.
The suspect returned to the Blair County Courthouse as he faced an extradition hearing Tuesday after New York prosecutors charged him with second-degree murder in connection with the Mr Thompson's killing.
“It’s completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people and their lived experience,” Mangione yelled as he was escorted in handcuffs into the courthouse.
Blair County District Attorney Peter Weeks said both Pennsylvania and New York’s governors remain confident they can get the warrant to transfer him back to the Empire State before the 30-day deadline.
Mangione was denied bail, is fighting extradition, and will remain in a Pennsylvania jail. He is set to plead not guilty to all charges, his attorney Thomas Dickey told NewsNation on Tuesday.