Well, I knew that. You knew that. Practically the entire sentient world knew that.
Luigi Mangione's attorneys want to make it official, however, and his legion of adoring fans may end up devastated by the latest defense strategy. If it sticks, that is:
Luigi Mangione will assert a psychiatric defense at his state murder trial in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a judge said Wednesday.
Judge Gregory Carro said Mangione’s lawyers have informed him they will attempt to show that he was suffering from “extreme emotional disturbance at the time of the occurrence.”
By asserting a psychiatric defense, Mangione would effectively be admitting that he killed Thompson but did so because of mitigating circumstances.
If a jury finds that Mangione was emotionally disturbed at the time of the killing, it could convict him of manslaughter instead of murder, meaning he’d be sentenced to less time in prison.
Before we get to the efficacy of this defense, let's discuss what it means for the Mangionistas. John wrote about Mangione's groupies a month ago, primarily women who insist that Mangione had the right to murder UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson as a matter of justice. A trio of them wangled press passes from the city of New York and launched their PR campaign to argue for Mangione's full release.
Why? Let's let the Mangionistas explain:
“F—k Brian Thompson. I don’t give a flying f—k he died,” said Ashley Rojas, who declined to provide her name, though it was visible on the press badge around her neck, alongside a button with Mangione depicted as a saint.
“His children are better off without him. They need to learn to not be like their dad. And enjoy the blood money, kids,” added fellow “independent journalist” Lena Weissbrot.
The Mangionistas don't want a lesser charge – they want a jury to vindicate Mangione for shooting an unarmed man in the back and running off like a beeyotch. They plan to enlighten the jury pool about the benefits of jury nullification, not educate them on the perils of mental illness:
Rojas, Weissbrot, and Abril Rios operate social media accounts under the handle “Mangionistas.” On Monday, they said they were planning to set up tables outside the courthouse when jury selection starts in Mangione’s state case in September with information on jury nullification, which is when a jury votes “not guilty” despite believing a defendant committed the charged crime.
Asked about the ethics of doing so, Rios said, “We can’t … go up to the jurors that are selected. That would be jury tampering. But we can talk to anyone in public.”
The Mangionistas may want jury nullification, but Mangione's attorneys don't appear confident in his ability to sell a shot in the back as some form of cosmic justice. Not only will this defense require Mangione to admit to a crime, but it also means that the defense has to release all records of Mangione's mental health assessments and treatments to prosecutors. That will likely be true in the federal trial that Mangione faces as well:
Carro ordered Mangione's attorneys to turn over his psychiatric records to prosecutors immediately and the judge said the records would be unsealed. ...
Mangione pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges after he was arrested for allegedly gunning down Thompson, a husband and father of two, on a Midtown Manhattan street in December 2024.
This is not the same as an insanity defense, which would result in psychiatric commitment rather than prison. It's more akin to a diminished-capacity argument, which, even if successful, would result in a long prison stretch. Mangione's attorneys want to aim for manslaughter in the first degree (125.20), which has the exception to murder for being "under the influence of extreme emotional disturbance." That is defined under 125.25 (a):
The defendant acted under the influence of extreme emotional disturbance for which there was a reasonable explanation or excuse, the reasonableness of which is to be determined from the viewpoint of a person in the defendant’s situation under the circumstances as the defendant believed them to be. Nothing contained in this paragraph shall constitute a defense to a prosecution for, or preclude a conviction of, manslaughter in the first degree or any other crime.
Manslaughter in the first degree is a Class B felony, punishable by 5-25 years in prison. That's still better than the Class A felony range of either life or 20-25 years, but given the cowardly nature of the attack, a judge would be inclined to lean toward the long end of that Class B range.
Plus, the circumstances of the crime do not speak to some sort of acute "extreme emotional disturbance," no matter what his attorneys or doctors may argue. This wasn't a random attack on the street, such as the attempted beheading in Belfast, to use an example. Mangione stalked his victim, prepared with a "ghost gun" firearm intended to prevent tracing back to himself, and then fled the scene and acted very rationally to prevent his identification and capture.
All of this is why an insanity defense won't work. It demonstrates that Mangione knew it was a crime and understood the nature of the act. It also seems very unlikely that this will suffice in getting a lesser charge applied, let alone get it past a jury, but it's a measure of the desperate nature of the defense that they will admit to the crime in using this strategy. That could have severe consequences if and when federal prosecutors pursue their own charges, because the federal statute for murder (18 USC 1111) does not have an exception for "extreme emotional disturbance." Mangione's lawyers could argue it as mitigation for sentencing, but the facts of this case fit murder in the first degree under federal law, emphases mine:
Every murder perpetrated by poison, lying in wait, or any other kind of willful, deliberate, malicious, and premeditated killing; or committed in the perpetration of, or attempt to perpetrate, any arson, escape, murder, kidnapping, treason, espionage, sabotage, aggravated sexual abuse or sexual abuse, child abuse, burglary, or robbery; or perpetrated as part of a pattern or practice of assault or torture against a child or children; or perpetrated from a premeditated design unlawfully and maliciously to effect the death of any human being other than him who is killed, is murder in the first degree.
Murder in the first degree in federal court carries a potential death penalty. Mangione's attorneys are really rolling the dice here in admitting to the elements of the crime at trial in state court in an effort to get a lesser sentence. The DoJ can pursue its own prosecution even if Mangione is convicted in a state trial under the "two sovereigns" exception to double jeopardy, and the DoJ may be even more incentivized to do so to make an example of domestic terrorists and their groupies.
Mangione is cooked, one way or the other. The Mangionistas are even more bat-guano crazy than their idol, although perhaps this new strategy might serve as a wake-up call.
Editor's Note: Do you enjoy HotAir's conservative reporting that takes on the radical left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join HotAir VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member