NEW YORK: A US judge on Friday barred prosecutors from seeking the death penalty against&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/mangione-seeks-dismissal-of-death-penalty-charge-in-unitedhealthcare-ceo-killing" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Luigi Mangione</a>, the man accused of gunning down a health insurance CEO in New York in December 2024. The judge dismissed two charges against Mangione that could carry the death penalty: murder and using a gun with a silencer. The 27-year-old suspect is still charged with two counts of stalking in his federal case, and faces state-level murder charges. Friday&#39;s decision &quot;is solely to foreclose the death penalty as an available punishment to be considered by the jury,&quot; Judge Margaret Garnett wrote in a court filing. Mangione faces life in prison without parole if convicted of the stalking charges. The federal trial is to begin with jury selection on September 8. The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/defense-challenge-evidence-in-killing-of-us-health-insurance-ceo" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">murder</a>&nbsp;of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson, captured on surveillance video, shocked the United States and exposed public anger with the profit-driven private healthcare system. Mangione was arrested five days after the killing at a McDonald&#39;s restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania, some 370 kilometers&nbsp;from the crime scene, following a tip from a staff member. In another significant ruling Friday, Garnett rejected Mangione&#39;s lawyers&#39; efforts to suppress as evidence the police search of a backpack recovered at the time of his arrest. Inside, officers found a handgun, a silencer, a magazine with bullets wrapped in underwear and a red notebook described as a &quot;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/parties-must-address-environment-in-election-manifestos-bangladeshi-climate-adviser" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">manifesto</a>.&quot; The defense argued the search breached legal standards. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to the state and federal charges.

Supporters of Luigi Mangione wait in line to enter Manhattan Federal Court on January 09, 2026 in New York City. (AFP)

Americas

The decision removes capital punishment from the case while allowing federal and state prosecutions to proceed toward trial.

US judge rules out death penalty for Luigi Mangione over health CEO murder case

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said late Saturday that six Democrats involved in a video calling on military officers to refuse illegal commands &ldquo;should be in jail.&rdquo; The Republican leader&#39;s remarks came after he accused the Democrat lawmakers on Friday of &ldquo;seditious behaviour, punishable by death.&rdquo; Democrats slammed Trump&#39;s comments as &ldquo;absolutely vile&rdquo; threats against the six senators and representatives, all of whom have served in the military or intelligence community. &lsquo;SEDITION AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL&rsquo;Trump took to social media on Saturday night, writing:&ldquo;THE TRAITORS THAT TOLD THE MILITARY TO DISOBEY MY ORDERS SHOULD BE IN JAIL RIGHT NOW, NOT ROAMING THE FAKE NEWS NETWORKS TRYING TO EXPLAIN THAT WHAT THEY SAID WAS OK.&rdquo; He said that the Democrats&#39; message was &ldquo;SEDITION AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL&rdquo; and that &ldquo;THERE CAN BE NO OTHER INTERPRETATION OF WHAT THEY SAID&rdquo;.<div class="fr-embed"><iframe src="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115597077845312894/embed" class="truthsocial-embed" style="max-width: 100%; border: 0" width="600" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div>&lsquo;Refuse illegal orders&rsquo;The video posted on social media Friday called on the military to &ldquo;refuse illegal orders&rdquo; and featured Arizona&#39;s Mark Kelly, Michigan&#39;s Elissa Slotkin, along with Jason Crow of Colorado, Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan of&nbsp;Pennsylvania&nbsp;and Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire. They did not specify which orders they were referring to, but Trump has ordered the National Guard into multiple US cities, in many cases against the wishes of local officials, in a bid to bring alleged rampant unrest under control. Death penalty&nbsp;Abroad, Trump has also ordered strikes on a series of alleged drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean that have left more than 80 people dead and which experts say are illegal. Trump has alluded to the death penalty on previous occasions. In 2023, former US military officer Mark Milley told a journalist he had secretly called his Chinese counterpart after the January 6, 2021 riots at the US Capitol to reassure Beijing that the United States remained &ldquo;stable&rdquo; and had no intention to attack China. Trump subsequently wrote on social media that &ldquo;in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!&rdquo;

Says, ‘THE TRAITORS THAT TOLD THE MILITARY TO DISOBEY MY ORDERS SHOULD BE IN JAIL RIGHT NOW, NOT ROAMING THE FAKE NEWS NETWORKS TRYING TO EXPLAIN THAT WHAT THEY SAID WAS OK.’

Articles tagged with "Death Penalty"

US judge rules out death penalty for Luigi Mangione over health CEO murder case

Trump urges jail time for Democrats over military message