Federal prosecutors could seek the death penalty in new charges against Luigi Mangione, the man accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The former Ivy League student will reportedly face federal charges as well as the terrorist murder indictments already filed by state prosecutors in New York.
While capital punishment has been outlawed in New York for 20 years, federal charges open the possibility for the Justice Department to green-light a parallel death penalty prosecution.
The New York Times quoted three sources with knowledge of the development as saying a federal case will be pursued through the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York. However, it wasn’t clear exactly what additional charges Mangione, 26, will likely face.
The defendant is already facing a first-degree murder charge and two counts of second-degree murder—with two of the counts upgraded to murder as an act of terrorism—over the Dec. 4 slaying. If convicted on those state charges, the worst punishment Mangione can face is life in prison without parole.
A decision over whether to seek Mangione’s execution in the federal case is unlikely to be made before Donald Trump returns to the Oval Office next month, the report said.
In a statement to the Times, Mangione’s attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, said the federal move would raise questions over her client facing possible double jeopardy—referring to the constitutional bar on trying people twice for the same offense.
“The federal government’s reported decision to pile on top of an already overcharged first-degree murder and state terror case is highly unusual and raises serious constitutional and statutory double jeopardy concerns,” she said. “We are ready to fight these charges in whatever court they are brought.”
The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan has been contacted for comment. The US Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
Danielle Filson, a Manhattan district attorney’s spokesperson, told the Times: “The state case will proceed in parallel with any federal case. This defendant brazenly shot Mr. Thompson point-blank on a Manhattan sidewalk. The Manhattan D.A.’s office, working with our partners at the N.Y.P.D., is dedicated to securing justice for this heinous murder with charges of murder in the first degree.”
Prosecutors say Mangione waited for the health-care company CEO to attend an investors’ meeting before shooting him in the back and leg and fleeing on an e-bike. He was arrested five days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
