Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty to state charges in killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Scripps News

Posted 9:46 AM, Dec 23, 2024 and last updated 9:53 AM, Dec 23, 2024


Luigi Mangione appeared in a Manhattan courthouse Monday morning where he pleaded not guilty to state charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Mangione is accused of fatally shooting Thompson earlier this month outside a New York City hotel. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said he faces a first-degree murder charge and two second-degree murder charges in the alleged killing.

"This type of premeditated, targeted gun violence cannot and will not be tolerated, and my office has been working day in and day out to bring the defendant to justice,” Bragg said in a statement.

Mangione eluded authorities for nearly a week — even as police released pictures of him in and around New York City.

Read more: https://www.scrippsnews.com/us-news/crime/luigi-mangione-pleads-not-guilty-to-state-charges-in-killing-of-united-healthcare-ceo

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Not guilty isn't necessarily "I'm innocent."

More like “I’d like a trial please.”

[jimfields33]

2. Definitely. I'd probably go with judge myself.

The over abundance of evidence would convince me of it.

[Sneederbunk]

3. So much for heroic self sacrifice.

Now he's trying to get out of it.

[sop]

4. Luigi wants a televised jury trial.

Like O.J., Zimmerman, Chauvin, Rittenhouse and others.

[Wiz Imp]

5. He's not going to get it.

I don't think New York allows it. That's why Trump's trials were not televised.

[LeftInTX]

6. Today's hearing was televised. Also it's at the judge's discretion.

&ab_channel=CBSNews

&ab_channel=6abcPhiladelphia

[Wiz Imp]

9. That was an arraignment hearing, not a trial

https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2024/06/10/cameras-in-new-york-state-courtrooms-a-short-update/?slreturn=20241223155409

Cameras in New York State Courtrooms: A Short Update
June 10, 2024 at 10:00 AM

New York remains one of the only U.S. jurisdictions that bans the use of cameras during trials. The recent trials in New York courtrooms involving former President Donald Trump—one civil, one criminal—have accelerated a re-interest in evaluating New York's long-standing ban on televising court proceedings.

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/judiciary-rejects-media-bid-to-allows-cameras-in-criminal-trials

Judiciary Rejects Media Bid to Allow Cameras in Criminal Trials Nov. 7, 2024, 10:40 AM EST

[Prairie Gates]

10. Why homie wearing the same outfit as his lawyer?

The man just knows how to take a picture.

[Wiz Imp]

7. I don't see the justification for a first degree murder charge. It doesn't seem to meet the statute.

Second degree murder? Absolutely. The 2 second degree murder charges don't make a ton of sense, though as he only killed one person.

[LeftInTX]

8. One of them is a lesser count. It's not unusual to file charges for both murder and manslaughter etc.

If the aggravated cause of terrorism is not found, then they can fall back on plain old second degree.

[FakeNoose]

11. First degree usually means it's premeditated

... and this certainly was premeditated, if all the evidence is made available to the prosecutors.

[Wiz Imp]

12. Not in NY

In NY:

First-degree murder is the most serious homicide offense in New York State. It is defined as the intentional killing of a person without justification with one of the following aggravating factors:

The victim was a police officer, peace officer, correctional employee, judge, or a criminal case witness
The murder was committed while the perpetrator was serving a life sentence
The murder was committed with torture of the victim
The murder was committed as an act of terrorism
The murder was committed during the commission or attempted commission of one of the felonies under New York's felony murder laws.
Murder committed for hire (with the charge applying to both the murderer and the person who paid the murderer)

The DA is claiming it was an act of terrorism but that's a really big stretch, IMO. They also complained that so many people in NY were "celebrating" the murder. If people are celebrating a murder, it doesn't sound like they were very terrorized.

[IbogaProject]

13. Terrorism can include attempting to influence politics with violence

Jan 6 was an example, but since the Feds do the violent bombings as that those cases could have mucked up the case law around Terrorism, which is a somewhat newer law. I'm not in favor of it in this case, but the DA will argue he was trying to influence or instigate political action with violence. This a problem with the Patriot Act giving the Government more power to protect themselves and stifle dissent.

[Wiz Imp]

14. Seems there's been a lot of skepticism from the legal community about the ability to prove first Degree Murder

And while I understand why prosecutors sometimes make multiple charges at different levels, but that can backfire as well.

[IbogaProject]

15. I in no way was endorsing that charge being brought

I was just mentioning how that is a part of the Patriot Act that has been quietly seeping into our legal system.