Manhattan federal prosecutors declined to appeal a judge’s ruling that barred them from seeking the death penalty against Luigi Mangione in the 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
In a letter, the government said it would not pursue an “interlocutory review” of the order from U.S. District Judge Margaret M. Garnett, who instructed prosecutors to determine by Friday whether they would appeal her ruling.
Mangione’s legal team on Friday declined to comment on the government’s update.
Last month, Garnett dismissed two of the four federal counts against Mangione, 27, which include murder through the use of a firearm and a related firearms offense. That murder charge carries a potential death sentence.
Mangione still faces two counts of interstate stalking, which carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In her ruling, Garnett determined the murder charge was technically flawed, saying the underlying stalking offense didn’t qualify as a “crime of violence.”
To seek the death penalty, prosecutors were required to show that Mangione killed Thompson, 50, while committing another “crime of violence.”
Mangione’s attorney Karen Agnifilo applauded the ruling, calling it an “incredible decision” and “we’re all very relieved.”
“We want to thank all the people who come out and stand in the cold, and the people who can’t come here, all the supporters,” Agnifilo said.
In April, Attorney General Pam Bondi directed prosecutors to pursue the death penalty, saying, “Luigi Mangione’s murder of Brian Thompson — an innocent man and father of two young children — was a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.”
Mangione is accused of killing Thompson on Dec. 4, 2024, in midtown Manhattan as the executive headed to a UnitedHealth Group investor conference. The shooting prompted a five-day national manhunt that ended when Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
He is set to go to federal trial this fall, with jury selection in September.
He also faces nine counts, including second-degree murder and various weapons charges, in a separate case brought by New York state prosecutors. That case is slated to begin on June 8.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to all federal and state charges.
