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United States Attorney General Pam Bondi directed prosecutors to seek the death penalty in the federal case against 2020 Engineering graduate Luigi Mangione on April 1 (Photo from Penn Yearbook).
Attorneys for 2020 Engineering graduate Luigi Mangione argued against the death penalty in a Saturday court filing — and cited his academic record and time at Penn as evidence.
In the Sept. 20 motion, which was filed in the Southern District of New York, Mangione’s defense outlined a 118-page argument against the “constitutionality of the death penalty.” Attorney General Pam Bondi had announced in April that the Department of Justice would seek capital punishment against Mangione, who was arrested in December 2024 and charged with fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in midtown Manhattan.
The filing described Mangione’s academic accomplishments, stating that he became the “valedictorian of the academically-demanding Gilman School in Baltimore and [graduated from] the University of Pennsylvania in four years with a master’s degree in engineering.”
“The Mangione case is anything but a typical case,” the document stated. “A young man who has never been in legal trouble … finds himself a defendant in a death-eligible federal indictment filed by a government that refused to meet with his lawyers or consider any mitigating information.”
The filing noted that teachers, friends, and advisors described Mangione as bright, humble, and “intellectually curious.” He was further described as “a smart, kind, well-rounded, young man” whose life was “derailed” by the government’s case.
“Throughout his schooling he often sought roles where he could help or teach others such as camp counselor or teaching assistant. Mr. Mangione graduated college during the COVID-19 pandemic and secured remote work utilizing his computer science degree,” the filing read. “In summary, Mr. Mangione is a smart, kind, well-rounded, young man.”
Just days before the federal motion was filed, a New York State Supreme Court judge dismissed two of the most serious state-level terrorism charges against Mangione — murder in furtherance of an act of terrorism and murder in the second degree as a crime of terrorism. Judge Gregory Carro ruled on Sept. 16 that the counts were “legally insufficient,” ruling that prosecutors had failed to prove whether Mangione sought to intimidate the public or influence government policy.
The dismissal removed charges that carried a sentence of life without parole. However, Mangione still faces state murder and weapons charges, as well as four federal charges including capital murder.
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