Luigi Mangione will not face the death penalty if convicted in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, after a federal judge rejected prosecutors’ request to pursue capital punishment.
U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett ruled Friday that the government cannot seek the death penalty against Mangione, who is accused of gunning down Thompson on a Manhattan sidewalk in December 2024. In the same ruling, Garnett delivered a major win to prosecutors by allowing jurors to see evidence recovered from Mangione’s backpack at the time of his arrest.
The decision clears the way for the jury to review a handgun, a loaded magazine and an alleged manifesto seized when Mangione was taken into custody. Defense attorneys had pushed to block that evidence, arguing it was obtained illegally without a warrant and tainted by a flawed investigation.
Garnett rejected those claims.
The ruling came one day after authorities charged a Minnesota man with an audacious and ultimately bungled attempt to break Mangione out of a New York jail.
Mark Anderson, 36, was charged after allegedly trying to access a jail intake area while posing as an FBI agent. Prosecutors say Anderson presented paperwork he claimed showed a judge had ordered Mangione’s release. The scheme unraveled when Bureau of Prisons staff asked for credentials, prompting Anderson to flash his Minnesota driver’s license and toss “numerous documents” at staff, according to the criminal complaint.
Anderson then allegedly warned officers he had weapons in his bag. A search turned up a barbecue fork and a tool resembling a pizza cutter, prosecutors said.
🚨 BREAKING: Luigi Mangione WILL NOT face the death penalty in his trial of m*rdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
Unbelievable.
Judge Garnett also DISMISSED two of the four federal counts against Mangione: m*rder through use of a firearm, which carries a potential death… pic.twitter.com/gk8jJKyC6r
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 30, 2026
Mangione’s trial date has not yet been set, though Garnett said jury selection is expected to begin by September.
The case has drawn intense public attention, fueled in part by Mangione’s courtroom appearances. Earlier this month, he appeared to grin during a pretrial hearing as spectators packed the gallery.
Friday’s ruling allowing backpack evidence to be introduced is a serious blow to the defense. Mangione’s attorneys argued that police botched the chain of custody, failed to properly advise him of his Miranda rights and conducted an unlawful search. Prosecutors countered that Altoona police followed standard procedure by immediately searching a suspect’s property for dangerous items, and later secured a warrant.
Mangione is accused of shooting Thompson in the early hours of Dec. 4, 2024, before fleeing the scene on a bicycle. Nearly a week later, he was arrested while eating breakfast at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, more than 300 miles from the crime scene, after customers recognized him and alerted authorities.
Police testified that officers initially found a loaded magazine in Mangione’s backpack. A later search at the station uncovered a handgun and a silencer. An inventory search turned up a notebook, handwritten notes and a diary prosecutors say outline steps Mangione took after the shooting.
Among the evidence presented at the hearing was a Philadelphia transit pass purchased at 1:06 p.m., roughly six hours after the killing, and a Greyhound bus ticket booked under the name “Sam Dawson” for a 6:30 p.m. departure from Philadelphia.
Prosecutors also highlighted handwritten notes with dated task lists. One entry labeled “12/5” included the line: “Buy black shoes (white stripes too distinctive).” Another outlined efforts to spend hours away from surveillance cameras and use multiple modes of transportation to “Break CAM continuity.”
Additional notes referenced checking news reports, purchasing supplies and visiting local convenience stores. When arrested, Mangione was carrying a Sheetz hoagie and a loaf of Italian bread, officers testified.
While the judge spared Mangione from facing execution, the ruling ensures jurors will hear the full scope of evidence prosecutors say ties him directly to a calculated, cold-blooded killing that stunned the business world and left one of the nation’s largest healthcare companies without its chief executive.
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