Luigi Mangione has pleaded not guilty to murder and terror charges over the killing of United Healthcare’s chief executive in New York.
Several weeks have passed since the cold-blooded shooting of CEO Brian Thompson as he was walking to a conference and the nation’s attention is still gripped by the case.
Shackled in a court in Manhattan, the man charged with his murder leaned over to a microphone to enter his plea.
‘Not guilty,’ said Mangione, an Ivy League graduate who was arrested at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania after a five-day hunt.
The 26-year-old was charged last week by the Manhattan district attorney with multiple counts of murder, including murder as an act of terrorism.
One of his lawyers told the judge that government officials, including New York mayor Eric Adams, have turned the accused into a political pawn.
Karen Friedman Agnifilo said Mangione has been robbed of his rights as a defendant, adding that politicians have tainted the jury pool.
‘I am very concerned about my client’s right to a fair trial,’ she stressed to the judge.
‘This is a young man. He is being treated like a human ping-pong ball between warring jurisdictions here.’
State trial court Judge Gregory Carro responded that he has little control over what happens outside the courtroom, but said he can guarantee that Mangione will receive a fair trial.
His initial appearance in New York’s state’s trial court was pre-empted by federal prosecutors bringing their own charges over the shooting.
(Picture: AP)
The federal charges could carry the possibility of the death penalty, while the maximum sentence for the state charges is life in jail without parole.
Prosecutors have said the two cases will proceed on parallel tracks, with the state charges expected to go to trial first.
Mangione was arrested carrying a gun that matched the one used in the shooting and a fake ID, it was reported by police.
Prosecutors said he also was carrying a notebook expressing hostility towards the health insurance industry and especially wealthy executives.
At a conference announcing the state charges last Tuesday, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg said the application of the terrorism law reflected the severity of a ‘frightening, well-planned, targeted murder that was intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation’.
‘In its most basic terms, this was a killing that was intended to evoke terror,’ he added. ‘And we’ve seen that reaction.’
In court last week, Agnifilo said the two sets of charges appear to conflict.
She said that the overlapping cases were ‘confusing’ and ‘highly unusual’.
‘I have never seen anything like what is happening here in 30 years of practicing law,’ she said.
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