Shackled and dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione was escorted by heavily armed police officers on Thursday and flown by air from Pennsylvania to Manhattan, where he appeared in a packed courtroom on federal charges that could carry the death penalty. reports AP reported.
The Ivy League graduate, who prosecutors say has railed against the health insurance industry and wealthy executives in his writings, was not required to enter a plea to federal murder, stalking and firearms charges in the Dec. 4 killing of Brian Thompson . The state prosecution accuses Mangione of murder as an act of terrorism.
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Mangione is being held without bail at the Metropolitan Detention Center, the same federal prison where hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs and cryptocurrency fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried are currently incarcerated.According to Bragg's office, Mangione is scheduled to be arraigned on the federal charges in Manhattan on Monday.
The University of Pennsylvania graduate, who came from a prominent Maryland family and had also lived in Hawaii, was scheduled to be arraigned on the state charges Thursday, before federal charges preempted that appearance. In the federal case, Mangione could next return to court for a bail hearing or a preliminary hearing if prosecutors do not receive a grand jury indictment by mid-January.
New York effectively abolished its death penalty in 2007 and the last execution in the state took place in 1963. However, the federal death penalty remains in effect.
The federal complaint filed against Mangione includes one count of murder with a firearm, which could carry the death penalty if convicted.
Federal prosecutors have not said whether they will seek the death penalty. That decision will be made by Justice Department officials in Washington in the coming months, likely after President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in on Jan. 20.
President Joe Biden's administration imposed a moratorium on federal executions shortly after he took office in 2021, but that hasn't stopped federal prosecutors from seeking the death penalty.
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By contrast, Trump's administration carried out 13 executions in the final six months of his first term.
FAQs
Q1. Who is accused of murdering United Healthcare CEO?
A1. Luigi Mangione is accused of killing the CEO of United Healthcare.
Q2. What's next for Luigi Mangione?
A2. Luigi Mangione is scheduled to be arraigned on the federal charges in Manhattan on Monday.
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