The young Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty today to the eleven charges against him in a state court in Manhattan (New York), which include murder and terrorism, for the crime against the executive director (CEO) of UnitedHealthcare insurer, Brian Thompson, on December 4.
Mangione’s defense team, Karen Friedman Agnifilo and Marc Agnifilo, assured the presiding judge Gregory Carro that they are concerned that their client, “a young boy,” will not have “a fair trial” and that he is being treated until the moment as “a human ping-pong ball” and as “a political waste” that the authorities are “taking advantage of.”
Judge Carro responded to them during this formal session for the reading of charges that he will strive to “select a balanced jury,” but that he has no “control of what happens behind the doors of the court,” alluding to the tremendous media impact of the case.
The suspect of murdering Thompson – who arrived handcuffed but looking good and dressed in a wine-colored sweater with the collars of a white shirt protruding, beige chinos and orange sneakers – only intervened during this hearing. , which lasted about 20 minutes, to plead “not guilty.”
During the last five minutes of the hearing, his lawyers showed him several documents, including photographs, and he received instructions without clarifying, shaking his head or contradicting them at any time. Immediately afterwards, a dozen New York police officers guarded him in handcuffs as he left the room.
Mangione is also charged federally in New York with charges of terrorism, murder, harassment and firearms offenses, in addition to having another open case in the state of Pennsylvania, where he was arrested after a five-day escape with cinematographic overtones.
Although New York does not apply the death penalty, the federal government does, hence the possibility of receiving the death penalty; while his state charges in New York would carry a maximum penalty of life in prison without the possibility of parole. The Prosecutor’s Office has not yet indicated whether they will seek the death penalty, and the decision would ultimately have to be approved by the United States Attorney General.
These processes run in parallel and it is expected that the state case will go to trial before the federal one, while the different authorities and courts ensure that they are working in coordination to advance them.
Political use of the case
On the other hand, in today’s session, Karen Friedman Agnifilo also criticized the “use” of her client’s case even by political authorities such as the mayor of New York, Eric Adams, who was present at the arrival of Mangione flanked by agents at Manhattan court on Thursday.
“It was the biggest walk (guarded by agents) I have ever seen in my entire career. What was the mayor of New York doing there? These walks are unconstitutional,” stated the lawyer.
The hearing, for which the time was not previously made public, once again had a great following by the press, civil society and members of the court itself who filled the approximately one hundred seats in the room.
The narrative on social networks, with tens of thousands of people considering the young man a kind of “hero” against the insurance industry, and his physical attractiveness, led to the vast majority of citizens who decided to attend the session today being women. below thirty.
The interest aroused by the case even led many of those present to try to surreptitiously use their cell phones to capture just the appearance of the room before Mangione’s arrival, so the six NYPD officers In court they were on the verge of expelling several attendees from the courtroom.
Outside the court, about fifty people carried banners in favor of Mangione and messages against the American health insurance industry, which they displayed behind the dozens of television cameras with live broadcasts at the doors of the court.
Luigi Mangione’s followers raise almost $200,000 to pay for his defense
Followers of Luigi Mangione, the alleged murderer of the CEO of the insurance company UnitedHealthcare, have raised $189,000 to pay for his defense and thus guarantee “his constitutional right to fair legal representation.”
The fundraiser, carried out through the GiveSendGo platform, has set the goal of raising $500,000 for the 26-year-old, accused of shooting executive Brian Thompson to death on December 4.
On their website, donors write news about Mangione’s case; For example, last Friday they talked about his indictment in the state of New York for first-degree murder, which could count as a “terrorist act.”
“Terrorism is an act intended to instill fear in the general population, while Luigi’s alleged actions only instilled fear in a small group of ultra-rich CEOs of corporations that profit from disease and death,” they stressed.
Several letters have also been sent from the GiveSendGo fund to Mangione, who remains held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn (New York): the last letter dates from December 20 and informs the defendant of the money that had been collected.
The campaign’s creators, who call themselves the December 4 Legal Committee – the day Mangione allegedly committed the crime – note that they have contacted their lawyers, Karen and Marc Agnifilo, in order to know whether or not their client has accepted the money, because if they reject it they would donate the amount collected to “other political prisoners.”
This fundraising campaign is a reflection of the support that Mangione has received since his arrest, as there are many who consider him “a hero,” and even today, outside a Manhattan state court where he appeared for the charges he faces in the State, about fifty people gathered with banners to show their support.
This case is reminiscent of other similar ones in which the accused received financial support from the public, such as that of former US Marine Daniel Penny – acquitted a few weeks ago of strangling a homeless man to death – who obtained $3 million from a subscription fund popular to pay for his defense.
Mangione, who pleaded not guilty today to the charges against him in New York, is also federally charged with charges of terrorism, murder, harassment and firearms offenses.
In addition, he has another case open in the state of Pennsylvania, where he was detained.
With information from EFE.
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