U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has called for the death penalty for Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old accused of killing Brian Thompson, the CEO of United Healthcare and an "innocent father of two." Thompson's murder, Bondi said, "was a premeditated, cold-blooded killing that shocked America. I have asked prosecutors to seek the death penalty in this case, furthering President Trump's agenda of stopping violent crime."
The request for Mangione is in line with the directive circulated by the former Florida prosecutor - now at the head of the US Justice system - on her first day in office. In the guidelines, she indicated the reinstatement of the death penalty and the revocation of the federal moratorium on the penalty , ordered by the Biden administration in 2021. The first Trump administration had reactivated the federal death penalty after a 17-year hiatus and in the last months of his mandate the execution of 13 inmates had taken place.
According to the prosecution, Mangione killed Thompson last December 4 in New York. The 26-year-old Italian-American from Baltimore has pleaded not guilty to charges ranging from first-degree murder with the intent of terrorism to illegal possession of a firearm. In the meantime, he remains in prison and continues to raise fans and funds. A fundraising campaign opened to cover legal costs has exceeded half a million dollars.
(Unioneonline/vf)
