Defense lawyers for Luigi Mangione have filed motions in Manhattan federal court, seeking the dismissal of federal charges against their client. The filings also request that prosecutors be barred from utilizing statements Mangione made to law enforcement officials, as well as evidence found in his backpack, including a gun and ammunition.
The defense’s efforts to dismiss federal charges and remove the possibility of the death penalty follow previous requests that cited public comments from an official identified as “Bondi.” This official reportedly directed New York prosecutors to pursue the death penalty, describing the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson as a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination.”
Mangione faces the death penalty exclusively under a federal statute pertaining to murders committed with firearms as part of other “crimes of violence,” as New York state law does not permit capital punishment. Mangione was apprehended following a multi-state search and was previously cleared of terrorism charges.
Source: https://www.livemint.com/news/us-news/unitedhealthcare-ceo-assassination-luigi-mangiones-lawyers-want-federal-charges-dismissed-know-why-11760185301963.html