NATIONAL NEWS – Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty as prosecution seeks the death penalty

Laila Kirkpatrick, Staff Writer

Lugi Mangione is currently facing the death penalty for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to four federal charges. Mangione appeared in federal court in Manhattan on Friday afternoon for an arraignment.

Just one day before then the Department of Justice announced that it would seek the death penalty, arguing that the shooting was fatal, intentional, and premeditated. Thompson was shot down outside a Manhattan hotel on December 4th. A few days later, authorities in Pennsylvania arrested Mangione. Mnagione is a University of Pennsylvania alum, who was found with a ghost gun, a fake ID, and a handwritten note, according to police. The document called health insurance companies “parasitic” and noted a disconnect between the country’s expensive health care system and low life expectancy. The case has sparked national discussion about the state of healthcare and the industry as a whole.