OAN Staff Sophia Flores
7:31 PM – Friday, February 27, 2026
Federal prosecutors announced they will not appeal a judge’s decision removing the death penalty from consideration in the case against Luigi Mangione for the alleged killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
In a letter filed on Friday, Deputy U.S. Attorney Sean Buckley informed Judge Margaret Garnett that the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District will not ask the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse her ruling, which makes the 27-year-old Ivy League graduate ineligible for the death penalty at trial.
“The Department of Justice will not seek interlocutory review of the Court’s Order” prosecutors wrote.
While he will not technically face a murder charge in the federal case, he will instead be charged with stalking Thompson — a charge prosecutors allege ultimately led to the father of two’s death.
Jury selection for the federal case is set to begin on September 8th, and opening statements will occur on October 13th.
In a separate state murder trial slated to begin in June, Mangione has been charged with murder under New York state law. If convicted, he faces life in prison, as New York does not have the death penalty.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to Thompson’s murder.
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