A Manhattan federal judge on Friday ruled that prosecutors would not be able to seek the death penalty at the trial of Luigi Mangione, the 27-year-old man accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive in 2024.
The judge, Margaret Garnett of Federal District Court, said the case would still proceed to trial on two other counts, which carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole, in the killing of the executive, Brian Thompson.
But she dismissed two charges, including one that carried the death penalty, she said in a 39-page opinion.
Judge Garnett also said in a separate 43-page order that she would allow federal prosecutors to use evidence seized from a backpack that Mr. Mangione had when he was arrested on Dec. 9, 2024, five days after the shooting.
The decisions came before a hearing in the case held in federal court on Friday. At the hearing, Mr. Mangione sat flanked by his lawyers, wearing the tan scrubs that are the standard issue for prisoners in federal jail.
After the setback for the prosecution, the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York said it was not prepared to decide yet if it would appeal the judge’s ruling. However, Dominic A. Gentile, a prosecutor, said the government was “prepared to go to trial and we are prepared to meet the schedule that has been set.”
Jury selection is set to start on Sept. 8 in the federal case before Judge Garnett.
The judge’s decision is a significant blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to revive the use of the death penalty in federal cases.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced in April that prosecutors would seek the death penalty against Mr. Mangione. Her decision came after “careful consideration,” she said, and was in line with President Trump’s executive order directing the Justice Department to renew death penalty requests after President Joseph R. Biden Jr. declared a moratorium on capital punishment for most federal offenders in 2021.
Mr. Mangione’s lawyers have argued that the decision was “explicitly and unapologetically political.” And statements made by administration officials, including Mr. Trump, have “indelibly prejudiced him,” his lawyers said, arguing that the judge should remove the government’s ability to seek the death penalty.
Mr. Mangione was indicted on four charges in his federal case, including two stalking counts, a firearms offense and one count of using a firearm to commit murder, which carries a maximum sentence of death. His lawyers had asked the judge to dismiss the firearms-related counts because they rely on classifying the stalking counts as “crimes of violence.”
The stalking offenses, the lawyers have argued, do not meet that definition and so cannot underpin the charge allowing the death penalty. Judge Garnett agreed, though she acknowledged that some might see her decision as “tortured and strange.”
For Mr. Mangione’s lawyers, the judge’s ruling is another success. In September, Justice Gregory Carro dismissed a terrorism charge in the state case against Mr. Mangione, saying that he had found the evidence behind the charges “legally insufficient.” Mr. Mangione still faces a charge of second-degree murder in that case, for which he could receive a sentence of 25 years to life.
Mr. Mangione has captured the attention of the United States ever since Mr. Thompson was fatally shot on a sidewalk in Midtown Manhattan as he walked to a meeting with investors, a scene that was captured on surveillance footage.
The killing, and the footage, launched a manhunt for the gunman, who had fled the scene. Mr. Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pa., five days later on the morning of Dec. 9, 2024, as he ate a steak, egg and cheese McMuffin and a hash brown. When officers approached him, he was sitting with a backpack next to him and scrolling on a laptop.
The dual prosecutions of Mr. Mangione, one in state court and another in federal, are examples of how long it can take a case to wind through courts, especially when the charges are serious felonies. And for Mr. Mangione, a race for which trial will go first is seemingly underway.
Earlier this week, prosecutors with the Manhattan district attorney’s office filed a letter with Justice Carro, who is overseeing the state case, saying that they would like the trial to begin on July 1.
On Friday, Judge Garnett said she was proceeding as if the federal case were the only case until state prosecutors or the defense reached out.
Inside of the courtroom on Friday, Mr. Mangione betrayed little of his emotions at the news.
Outside the courthouse, Mr. Mangione’s lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, spoke to a crowd of reporters and camera crews, flanked by her partners Marc Agnifilo and Jacob Kaplan.
Ms. Friedman Agnifilo began by thanking the court for “this incredible decision,” as well as the supporters who had braved the cold to stand in solidarity with Mr. Mangione.
“All the supporters: We get your letters, we get your emails and we really appreciate all the support,” she said with a smile.
William Dobbs of Death Penalty Action, which seeks to abolish capital punishment, was the lone figure outside the courthouse when the judge’s order came down on Friday morning.
“This is encouraging news given the state of justice under the Trump administration,” he said, a “No Death for Luigi Mangione” sign clutched in his hand.
Hurubie Meko is a Times reporter covering criminal justice in New York, with a focus on the Manhattan district attorney’s office and state courts.
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