Luigi Mangione Plans To Admit That He Killed United Healthcare CEO
Luigi Mangione was totally nuts when he killed United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, and therefore he should be convicted of manslaughter, not murder. That’s what the defense will argue in the hunky murderer’s upcoming trial, which is set to begin in September. Via CNN:
Luigi Mangione’s attorneys will present a psychiatric defense at his state murder trial this fall, arguing he killed UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson while suffering an extreme emotional disturbance. At a hearing Wednesday, Judge Gregory Carro said he planned to unseal records related to an affirmative defense available to New York state criminal defendants charged with murder, in which the accused admits to the charged conduct but argues they should not be held fully criminally liable because he or she acted while experiencing a mental health episode. Experts have told CNN a psychiatric defense would be challenging but is likely Mangione’s best argument given the strength of the evidence against him.
If a jury in the state trial agrees that Luigi was bonkers, he’ll only be convicted of manslaughter, and might only serve a few years in prison. But don’t forget, he has a federal trial next year for stalking resulting in death, and the Extreme Emotional Disturbance (EED) defense is not available in federal court. So, prosecutors there can use the fact that he’s already admitted guilt and will have, presumably, no problem getting a conviction. The defense obviously knows this, so it’s unclear what in the world they’re going to do in the federal case, where Luigi faces life in prison. They could argue “not guilty by reason of insanity” (which is different than EED), but that type of defense almost never wins.
