Judge Margaret Garnett thwarted the Trump administration’s bid to see Luigi Mangione executed.
By Catholics for Catholics
A federal judge ruled Friday that prosecutors can’t seek the death penalty against Luigi Mangione, the alleged killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, thwarting the Trump administration’s attempt to see him executed for what it called a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.”
Dismissing a federal murder charge against Mangione, U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett found that it was technically flawed. Garnett left in place stalking charges that carry a maximum punishment of life in prison, according to Newsmax.
The judge said the case would still proceed to trial on other counts, which carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole, in the killing of the executive, Brian Thompson.
In her opinion, Judge Garnett said that two stalking charges against Mangione, 27, one of which carried a maximum sentence of death, did not meet the legal definition of a crime of violence, and had to be dismissed.
Luigi Mangione will not face the death penalty after a US judge dismissed murder and weapons charges against the accused killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, in a major blow to federal prosecutors https://t.co/Wo6poM85LR pic.twitter.com/23GFPEqWVp
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 31, 2026
The judge also ruled that federal prosecutors can employ evidence seized from a backpack that was with Mangione when he was detained while eating breakfast at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pa. on Dec. 9, five days after the shooting.
The decision from Judge Garnett is a major blow to the Trump administration, which has looked to revive the use of the death penalty in federal cases.
In April, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that prosecutors would seek the death penalty against Mangione. After “careful consideration,” Bondi said she had taken that decision and was in line with President Trump’s executive order directing the Justice Department to renew death penalty requests after President Biden declared a moratorium on capital punishment for most federal offenders in 2021.
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