Luigi Mangione’s defense team has withdrawn its plan to mount a psychiatric defense at his New York state murder trial in the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The reversal came one day after Manhattan Judge Gregory Carro said during a June 17 hearing that the defense planned to argue Mr. Mangione was suffering an emotional disturbance at the time of the killing.
The withdrawn strategy would have allowed Mr. Mangione to argue he was not fully criminally responsible for the killing because of his emotional state. If a jury agreed, his intentional second-degree murder charge could have been reduced to first-degree manslaughter, which carries a lesser potential sentence.
In a separate June 18 order, Judge Carro wrote that, in light of the withdrawal, his earlier order sealing certain transcripts, emails and documents in the case remains in effect.
Mr. Thompson was fatally shot outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel in December 2024, where he was set to appear at UnitedHealth Group’s annual investor conference. Mr. Mangione was arrested five days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pa. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
In September, Judge Carro dismissed two terrorism-related counts, including a first-degree murder charge, finding them legally insufficient. He let the remaining counts stand, including intentional second-degree murder. Mr. Mangione also faces separate federal charges in New York and state charges in Pennsylvania. The state trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 8.
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