A federal judge in New York on Friday dismissed the capital-eligible federal murder and related weapons counts against Luigi Mangione, a decision that puts the death penalty off the table in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. This ruling means prosecutors can no longer present a penalty phase asking jurors to consider execution, a stunning outcome for a case that many Americans viewed as a clear-cut assassination.
Judge Margaret Garnett concluded that the government’s theory tying the shooting to a “crime of violence” did not meet the narrow legal test required to seek capital punishment, leaving two stalking counts intact that still carry a possible life sentence. The remaining federal charges are a technical workaround that will satisfy legal form but not the moral weight many feel the crime demands. State prosecutors still retain murder charges, so the battle over true accountability is far from over.
This outcome highlights a familiar problem: legalism and precedent can tie the hands of judges even where the facts scream for the harshest consequences. Garnett repeatedly pointed to Supreme Court precedent in finding stalking did not qualify as the predicate violent crime needed to elevate the case to capital status, a narrow reading that will frustrate victims’ families and patriots who want justice, not jurisprudential gymnastics. The insistence on semantic hair-splitting risks making law-abiding Americans feel like the system protects criminals more than the innocent.
In a partial victory for prosecutors, the judge allowed evidence seized from Mangione’s backpack — including a 9 mm handgun and a written manifesto allegedly linking him to Thompson’s killing — to be used at trial, undercutting defense efforts to suppress key proof. Federal jury selection is still scheduled for September, with testimony to begin in October, and Manhattan prosecutors are pursuing a state trial that could start in July; appeals by the U.S. attorney’s office are possible and would be appropriate given the stakes. The procedural twists will not change the fact that Thompson was ambushed and killed, and they should not deter prosecutors from pursuing every lawful path to ensure a lifetime behind bars if conviction follows.
Patriots should demand an immediate, full-throated appeal and a no-holds-barred state prosecution that secures final accountability for Brian Thompson and his grieving family. We can’t accept a judge’s technical ruling as a moral absolution for a cold-blooded act that terrorized a citizen and struck at the heart of our public safety. The justice system must be a sword for victims and a shield for the innocent; today’s decision shows why conservatives must keep fighting to restore common-sense punishments and to defend the rule of law.
