A New York court has indefinitely postponed the hearing in the case of Luigi Mangione
A New York court has indefinitely postponed the trial of Luigi Mangione, who is charged by the state with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The decision was made after Mangione’s defense team requested that the state’s case be dismissed, citing the prohibition against double jeopardy.
According to ABC News Australia, Judge Gregory Carro has postponed the trial, which had been scheduled to begin in the coming weeks. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, which is handling the state case, has until October 9 to respond to the defense’s arguments. The judge scheduled a hearing on this matter for December 10—about a week before the scheduled sentencing in the federal case.
Last week, 28-year-old Mangione pleaded guilty in federal court in Manhattan to two counts of stalking. He admitted to stalking Thompson leading up to a UnitedHealth Group investor conference and shooting him near a Manhattan hotel on December 4, 2024.
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Federal prosecutors said they will seek a life sentence during sentencing in December. Meanwhile, federal sentencing guidelines call for a term of 24 to 30 years in prison.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty in the state case. That case also carries the possibility of life imprisonment and includes charges of murder and weapons-related crimes. His attorneys argue that federal and state prosecutors are attempting to punish him twice for the same conduct. In their view, the assault on Thompson was part of the same criminal episode as the murder.
The office of Manhattan District Attorney Elvin Bragg opposes dismissing the case. The state’s attorney’s office believes that the charges of murder and weapons offenses have different legal elements and relate to different criminal conduct. New York law provides enhanced protection against multiple prosecutions: state proceedings may be dismissed if a federal case involving the same sequence of events or criminal episode has resulted in a guilty plea or if a grand jury has been convened. Judge Carro’s ruling may be appealed.
