UnitedHealthcare CEO suspected gunman Luigi Mangione has been federally charged with four criminal charges, including stalking and murder, which could culminate in the death penalty if convicted.
His Thursday arraignment came on the heels of his transfer from Pennsylvania to New York via plane and helicopter after he waived his rights to extradition proceedings. Mangione stands accused of fatally gunning Brian Thompson down in broad daylight on December 4.
The last execution to take place in the state of New York was with Eddie Lee Mays on August 15, 1963. The state abolished the death penalty in 2007, and the same dates back to colonial times. New York also holds the record for second most executions between 1608 and 1972, just after Virginia. Prior to the invention of the electric chair, most of the executions were done via hanging.
Luigi Mangione's lawyer claims his situation is "highly unusual" as his life now lies in the hands of his prosecutors
As reported by the BBC, at his arraignment in Manhattan, Luigi Mangione showed up in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs outside the courtroom, though he later changed into civilian clothes for his 15-minute hearing. The 26-year-old Ivy League graduate will remain behind bars until his lawyers decide to file for bail.
During the court proceedings, United States Magistrate Judge Katharine Parker read out his rights and the four federal charges he has been hit with, and when asked if he understood the same, he courtly replied with a "yes." Per Al Jazeera, Mangione is facing two counts of stalking and using an unregistered gun silencer, as well as murder using a firearm.
If the prosecutors decide to push for it, the alleged gunman is looking at the death penalty. His leading lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, claims this is a “highly unusual situation” for a defendant to be grappling with state and federal cases simultaneously.
“Frankly I’ve never seen anything like what is happening here,” Friedman Agnifilo said.
She maintains the right to seek bail at a later time on behalf of her client.
Per the Associated Press, the cases will go on simultaneously, with the state charges slated to go to trial first. During Thursday's hearing, Luigi Mangione agreed to be returned to New York and was consequently turned over to a contingent of New York Police Department officers. They flanked him as he headed to the airport to catch a Long Island-bound flight.
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UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed on December 4, and five days later, Luigi Mangione was cuffed and taken in after he was identified as the potential suspect at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Per a criminal complaint obtained by Al Jazeera, Mangione headed to New York from Georgia “for the purpose of stalking and killing Brian Thompson”.
Following his arrest, a handwritten manifesto was found in Luigi Mangione's possession, one that “express hostility towards the health insurance industry and wealthy executives in particular," the complaint claims. An August entry claims that “the target is insurance” because “it checks every box," while one from October shows intent to “wack” the CEO of an "insurance company."
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