NEW YORK — Luigi Mangione is scheduled to be back in court Tuesday for the final pre-trial conference before jury selection gets underway next month in his state murder case.
Tuesday’s appearance could mark the last time Mangione is seen publicly before jury selection begins on Sept. 8, and the hearing represents one of the final chances for prosecutors and defense attorneys to lock down details of the closely watched trial.
Tuesday’s appearance could be the last time Mangione is seen in public before jury selection starts on Sept. 8.
Prosecutors allege that Mangione fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in what has been described as an assassination-style killing on a Midtown Manhattan street in December 2024. Mangione has entered not guilty pleas in both state and federal cases, and he could face life in prison if convicted in the state murder case.
In the two months since Mangione’s last court appearance in state court, his defense team suddenly backed away from plans to argue he was suffering an “extreme emotional disturbance” when he allegedly carried out the killing. The uncommon psychiatric defense would have had Mangione’s attorneys contending he experienced a “profound loss of self-control” at the time of the murder and that he should instead be convicted of the lesser offense of manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years.
Mangione’s lawyers pulled their notice about the intended defense after the judge indicated his legal team would have to hand over Mangione’s psychiatric records if they pursued that strategy.
Mangione’s attorneys and federal prosecutors in Manhattan also explored a possible guilty plea in his federal case in June, according to a previous report from ABC News. The sources noted it was unclear how close the two sides had come to a deal before the talks broke down, and Mangione’s federal trial is set to start on Jan. 5.
Prosecutors with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office have indicated they would seek a harsher sentence in the state murder case if Mangione were to enter a plea in the federal case.
“Any guilty pleas in these matters must account for the seriousness of defendant’s offenses, the loss of an innocent life, the impact of those crimes on the victim’s family, and the other state interests that are implicated, including the sanctity of life principle that underpins the state homicide charges,” prosecutor Joel Seidermann wrote in July.
Judge Gregory Carro has not publicly commented on either development since Mangione’s last court appearance. He has also not revealed his plan for jury selection.
Heading into the conference, defense lawyers have additionally asked Judge Carro to take up the arrangement for media access during the trial, including whether the proceedings could be broadcast live.