The suspect in the slaying of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, expected to be extradited from Pennsylvania to New York on Thursday to face state murder charges, is reportedly facing federal charges as well. Prosecutors with the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York have secured a grand jury indictment against Luigi Mangione, who could face the death penalty if convicted of the federal charges, expected to be announced in the coming days, reports the New York Post. As New York abolished the death penalty in 2004, Mangione only faces up to life in prison without parole on the state charges, which include first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism.
Part of the reason federal prosecutors sought the indictment was the ability to request the death penalty, reports the Post. However, "any decision about capital punishment would most likely fall to the Justice Department once President-elect Donald J. Trump has taken office," reports the New York Times. A rep for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office notes the "state case will proceed in parallel with any federal case." But Mangione's lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, says the move is "highly unusual and raises serious constitutional and statutory double jeopardy concerns." Still, "we are ready to fight these charges in whatever court they are brought," she says. (Mangione also faces gun and forgery charges in Pennsylvania.)
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