Luigi Mangione won’t assert a psychiatric defence in state trial, after all, his lawyers say

In a stunning reversal, Luigi Mangione’s lawyers told a judge Thursday that he will no longer assert a psychiatric defence at his state murder trial in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

The retraction came a day after Mangione’s lawyers told Judge Gregory Carro they planned to pursue a defence involving claims that the 28-year-old Ivy League graduate was suffering from extreme emotional disturbance at the time of the Dec. 4, 2024, killing.

A message seeking comment was left with a spokesperson for Mangione’s lawyers. The Manhattan district attorney’s office, which is prosecuting the state case, declined to comment.

Mangione’s lawyers had faced a Thursday deadline to provide prosecutors with information supporting the emotional disturbance claim.

In another turn, Carro rescinded his order to unseal a transcript and other material from a secret hearing on the matter on June 3, citing the defence’s decision. But by the time he ruled, copies of the transcript had already been provided to at least some members of the news media.

It contained no additional details about the emotional disturbance claim.

WATCH | Judge blocks death penalty bid against Luigi Mangione in CEO killing:

Death penalty off the table for Luigi Mangione as judge dismisses federal murder charge

A federal judge in New York has dismissed a murder charge against Luigi Mangione, accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in 2024. U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett found the charge technically flawed. Mangione will still face federal stalking and firearms charges, as well as a separate state murder charge.

If Mangione were to have gone through with the extreme emotional disturbance defence, he would have effectively admitted that he killed Thompson but argued he did so because of mitigating circumstances. It would not have absolved him of responsibility, but could have led to less time in prison.

If a jury accepts the defence, it is obligated to convict a defendant of manslaughter, punishable by up to 25 years in prison, instead of murder, which carries a potential life sentence.

Defence ‘respectfully withdraws’

In a letter to Carro on Thursday, Mangione lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo said the defence “respectfully withdraws” its notice under New York’s psychiatric defense statute “at this time.”

Mangione, 28, has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges. His state trial is scheduled to start Sept. 8. His federal trial, which involves stalking charges, is set to begin on Oct. 13.

At Wednesday’s hearing, Friedman Agnifilo protested Carro’s decision to unseal materials related to his psychiatric defence, saying it will be “prejudicial to his defence to the exact same facts” in his federal case, where an extreme emotional disturbance defence isn’t allowed.

An emotional disturbance defence is not the same as a not guilty by reason of insanity defence, which would allow a defendant to go to a psychiatric facility instead of prison.

Thompson, 50, was killed as he walked to a Manhattan hotel for UnitedHealth Group’s annual investor conference. Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting him from behind.

Mangione, an Ivy League graduate from a wealthy Maryland family, was arrested five days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pa., about 370 kilometres west of Manhattan.

At a hearing last month, Carro ruled that a gun and notebook that prosecutors say link Mangione to the killing can be used as evidence against him.

The gun, a 3D-printed pistol, matches the one used to kill Thompson, prosecutors said.