U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett handed Luigi Mangione his most significant legal victory to date Friday by removing the death penalty from the federal case tied to the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024.
Garnett dismissed the death-eligible portions of the indictment, ruling that prosecutors failed to meet the legal standards required to pursue capital punishment under federal law.
The decision ensures that Mangione will not face execution in federal court, even if convicted.
Prosecutors had argued the killing was a premeditated assassination warranting the harshest possible punishment, but Garnett concluded their charging theory did not satisfy the statutory "crime of violence" requirements needed to pursue a capital case.
While Mangione still faces the possibility of life in prison on remaining federal counts, the ruling narrowed both the scope and severity of the prosecution's case.
Garnett acknowledged the outcome might appear unusual, but said she was bound to follow Supreme Court precedent and statutory interpretation rather than prosecutorial preference.
The death-penalty ruling follows a series of court actions that, taken together, appear to benefit Mangione's defense more than federal prosecutors.
Earlier in the case, Garnett turned her attention to public statements by senior Justice Department officials, concluding that "two high-ranking staff members of the Department of Justice, including within the Office of Attorney General," had made comments that "likely violated" court rules designed to protect a defendant's right to a fair trial.
She ordered prosecutors to rein in their messaging and escalate the warning within the DOJ, making clear that further violations could trigger sanctions and writing, "For the avoidance of doubt or confusion," before citing the rule barring statements that create a "substantial likelihood" of prejudicing a jury.
That order did not address Mangione's guilt or innocence but instead focused on prosecutorial conduct and the risk of interfering with "the due administration of justice," placing new limits on how the government could publicly frame the case.
Garnett has also subjected key evidence to heightened scrutiny, ordering an evidentiary hearing on the seizure and search of Mangione's backpack and limiting testimony to an officer with "sufficient authority and experience to testify about the established or standardized procedures in use" at the time of the arrest.
She emphasized that the witness "need not have had any personal involvement" in Mangione's arrest, underscoring that the court's focus would be on process and policy rather than the prosecution's narrative of events.
In addition, Garnett ordered prosecutors to turn over "a copy of the affidavit submitted to obtain a federal search warrant," expanding the defense's ability to challenge how key evidence was obtained.
At the same time, Garnett has not granted every defense request, allowing prosecutors to keep backpack evidence — including a handgun and a notebook — in the case despite efforts to suppress it.
The cumulative effect has been to reduce the government's pressure points while leaving the defense multiple avenues to contest procedure, evidence, and conduct as the case moves toward trial.
Prosecutors remain free to pursue a conviction and lengthy prison sentence, but they must now do so without the death penalty as leverage and under tighter judicial oversight.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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