Reacting to Attorney General Pam Bondi’s announcement she has instructed prosecutors to pursue the death penalty for Luigi Mangione, who was accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thomspon last year, CNN correspondent Kara Scannel said the big question is if the jury will deliver a verdict of death, as the death penalty is “rare” in the United States.
The reporter suggested the jury may rebuff the attorney general’s move.
Scannel noted that there was a case in New York, in the same courthouse, where a man who was accused of running down a pedestrian in a U-haul truck was convicted. “That case went to the death penalty, but the jury didn’t send him to death,” she added.
She said Bondi is going to direct the prosecutors for the Southern District of New York and the U.S. attorney's office in the city to seek the death penalty on the one criminal charge that Mangione is facing in federal court.
Scannel noted Mangione’s lawyer had previously said during a court hearing that she was in discussions with federal prosecutors about whether they would seek the death penalty. These discussions may have contributed to the delay, according to Scannel.
"So now we do have an answer of what federal prosecutors will do," Scannel said during an appearance on CNN, adding that their move to seek the death penalty is a marked shift from former President Joe Biden's administration, which had not sought the death penalty in many cases at all.
Earlier on Tuesday, Bondi announced she has instructed federal prosecutors to pursue the death penalty for Luigi Mangione, who is accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City last year.
“Luigi Mangione’s murder of Brian Thompson — an innocent man and father of two young children — was a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America,” Bondi said in a statement.
“After careful consideration, I have directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in this case as we carry out President Trump’s agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again,” she added.
Mangione, 26, is facing both federal and state murder charges in connection with the incident. The federal charges against him include murder committed with a firearm, which carries the potential for the death penalty.
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