The rumors turned out to be accurate. Rather than face a federal trial on two counts of murder in the assassination of Brian Thompson, Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty this morning in federal court. The plea change ends the federal prosecution of Mangione, but doesn't necessarily end the separate trial under New York's state laws.
Mangione got no deal from the Department of Justice, which had already foregone the pursuit of the death penalty in the case:
Just before 11:15 a.m., Mangione's defense team told the judge Mangione "is prepared to plead guilty to the indictment at this time."
The judge asked Mangione if that was correct.
"Yes," Mangione told the judge.
The judge then asked Mangione a series of questions about his background and use of medications and drugs. The judge then found Mangione to be fully competent to enter the plea.
The judge then told Mangione that the maximum possible sentence is life in prison followed by supervised release. The judge added that there's no parole in the federal, although good behavior and other programs can impact how long he will spend in prison. He will be required to serve 85% of the sentence, the judge said.
The judge pointed out that there's no plea agreement between the defense and prosecution, and Mangione's defense attorney said that's correct.
Either of the two charges – murder and homicide related to stalking the victim – would result in a life sentence. Another charge relating to the use of a firearm had been dismissed on a technicality, and that would have allowed the death penalty as a sentencing option. The DoJ had already decided not to pursue an appeal of that ruling, so Mangione didn't cut a deal to escape execution.
As a condition of the plea change, Mangione was required to allocute to the crime, which means a formal confession in court:
“I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan,” Luigi Mangione tells the judge as he pleads guilty in federal court, adding: “I understood that my actions would place him in fear of death or bodily injury. I knew what I was doing was illegal.” Mangione said that he printed a gun with a 3-D printer and affixed it with a silencer.
That matters because of New York's separate charges for the same crime. The decision to plead out today rather than fight the charges in court is somewhat mystifying, because there's almost no chance of any sentence less than life in prison from a federal court for this premeditated assassination, guilty plea or not. The only benefit Mangione might get is an end to the state prosecution under a "double jeopardy" claim, as CBS News notes later in its report:
"Luigi Mangione's defense team had made that argument in the state case prior, and this could revive it, because if you actually have a conviction on the federal case, it's a more robust double jeopardy protection in the New York state case. So we could see a motion there that could kick this state case back," Polisi said.
The New York Times cast some cold water on that idea last week, when rumors of a plea change first emerged:
Even if Mr. Mangione’s federal case is resolved first by guilty plea, state prosecutors may argue that their case — or portions of their case, depending on what charges Mr. Mangione pleads guilty to — can move forward. ...
The two cases have narrowed over the past year, with Mr. Mangione’s lawyers winning the dismissal of the most serious charges. Mr. Mangione is still charged with several weapons charges and second-degree murder in state court. In federal court, he is not charged with murder but is accused of stalking, meaning prosecutors do not have to prove he killed Mr. Thompson, but that his actions led to the executive’s death.
The haven Mangione may use here is not based on the US Constitutional bar against double jeopardy, but New York state law that prevents prosecutors from pursuing cases already prosecuted by the DoJ. That's why the "dual sovereign" doctrine has only limited application here, but even then, the charges are different enough to likely allow Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg to proceed:
Schoenstein said that's because the federal charges Mangione is pleading guilty to are related to interstate matters and stalking, which are quite different than the second-degree murder, weapons and forged instrument charges he's facing on a state level.
"So the weapons and forged instrument charges would not be resolved by the federal plea, and arguably the intentional killing charge would not be resolved. I do think there's a serious question as to whether this would be double jeopardy," Schoenstein said.
Why change the plea now, rather than using the trials as leverage to resolve both prosecutions, or at least to get some sort of consideration at sentencing? Perhaps Mangione has finally realized he'll live the rest of his life in a cage one way or the other, and just wants to get on with it without spending any more money in denial. Sentencing will take on December 18, so Mangione has plenty of time to reflect on this choice ... and many others.
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