Luigi Mangione case: If stalking and assault aren’t ‘crimes of violence,’ death penalty vanishes

Luigi Mangione's destiny could hinge connected a ineligible technicality arsenic his defence squad argues that a caller national tribunal determination could perchance propulsion the rug retired from nether the Justice Department's execution charge.

In the caller filing, Mangione's lawyers cited the Ninth Circuit's Jan. 13 determination successful United States v. Gomez — which recovered that a California instrumentality connected battle with a deadly limb does not conscionable the "crime of violence" threshold owed to ineligible technicalities. The sheet recovered that equipped assaults tin beryllium committed recklessly, meaning the suspect should person known the enactment carried a hazard of danger, not conscionable purposefully, meaning the suspect intended to harm the victim.

In Mangione's case, the underlying alleged "crime of violence" is stalking.

"It’s similar a bid of dominos — the lone mode that the national authorities tin get to a decease punishment complaint successful their lawsuit is if the execution was committed during the people of a convulsive felony," said Joshua Ritter, a Los Angeles transgression defence lawyer and Fox News contributor. "And the crushed that they request that is due to the fact that they request what’s called a national hook to get them national jurisdiction. So the mode that they get that hook is done the stalking."

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Luigi Mangione attends an evidentiary proceeding successful the execution lawsuit of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, astatine the Manhattan Supreme Court successful New York, U.S., December 18, 2025.  (REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/Pool)

Mangione is accused of stalking UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson crossed authorities lines, past gunning him down extracurricular a New York edifice hours earlier helium was expected to conscionable with institution shareholders for a concern conference.

While successful this lawsuit the alleged stalking did pb to violence, Ritter said that the defence lone needs to person that tribunal that the transgression of stalking arsenic a full tin sometimes beryllium committed without unit successful bid for the ineligible statement to work.

"He's got a hellhole of a defence team, and they're making immoderate precise absorbing arguments," helium told Fox News Digital.

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UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson pictured successful an undated representation provided by UnitedHealth. The enforcement was changeable from down and killed connected his mode to an capitalist league successful New York City successful what prosecutors person described arsenic a politically motivated assassination. (AP Photo/UnitedHealth Group via AP)

The defence told the New York justice that the Gomez determination supports dismissing the execution complaint due to the fact that the underlying stalking allegation does not conscionable the explanation of a "crime of violence."

The Ninth Circuit's en banc determination isn't binding successful the Southern District of New York, wherever Mangione faces national charges, said Donna Rotunno, a Chicago-based transgression defence lawyer and Fox News contributor.

"[The defense] volition reason that it doesn’t matter, that stalking doesn’t needfully mean it volition pb to murder, truthful it should not beryllium utilized to heighten the execution complaint for purposes of national tribunal and the decease penalty," Rotunno said.

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A surveillance representation released by the NYPD shows the fishy successful the shooting decease of United Healthcare CEO, Brian Thompson connected Wednesday, December 4, 2024. (NYPD Crimestoppers)

Thompson, a 50-year-old begetter of two, lived successful Minnesota. Video shows a gunman attack him from down and unfastened occurrence earlier fleeing the scene.

Without an underlying convulsive crime, the national execution complaint that depends connected it should beryllium thrown retired wholly — and the imaginable decease punishment with it, according to Mangione's lawyers.

According to the prosecution, the crushed for the stalking was to allegedly transportation retired a politically motivated assassination.

"No different purpose," Rotunno said.

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Luigi Mangione shouts portion officers restrain him arsenic helium arrives for his extradition proceeding astatine Blair County Courthouse successful Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania connected Tuesday, December 10, 2024. (David Dee Delgado for Fox News Digital)

The Ninth Circuit has a estimation for being 1 of the country's astir wide national appellate courts, and galore of its decisions scope the Supreme Court, according to ineligible experts. The Gomez determination came down days aft Mangione's lawyers and national prosecutors squared disconnected successful tribunal to present oral arguments connected the issue. His squad filed a supplemental little hoping to adhd value to their arguments.

It's unclear however the justice volition rule, but different ineligible experts are skeptical.

"They are the astir wide circuit tribunal successful the land," said David Gelman, a Philadelphia-area defence attorney. "They besides person the highest overturn complaint retired of each the circuits."

The filing whitethorn beryllium a stretch, helium said.

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"The statement virtually is backwards," helium told Fox News Digital. "You don’t stalk idiosyncratic and say, 'Oh, hey, I’m conscionable having fun.' You stalk idiosyncratic with the intent to harm."

Mangione is owed backmost successful national tribunal connected Friday. He besides faces state-level charges successful New York and Pennsylvania successful transportation with the case.