JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Questions are swirling about the legal strategy in the case of the 26-year-old Ivy League graduate accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City. Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty earlier this week to a variety of charges, including murder. He also faces a federal case that could bring the death penalty. Samantha Max of member station WNYC is here to get into some of the key legal questions. Hi there.
SAMANTHA MAX, BYLINE: Hi.
SUMMERS: Samantha, I mean, this case has just attracted so much public attention, and some people are praising Mangione. But in court earlier this week, Mangione's attorney expressed some concerns about her client's ability to get a fair trial. What did she have to say?
MAX: So prosecutors have accused Mangione of shooting Thompson twice from behind with an untraceable ghost gun. And at Mangione's state court arraignment earlier this week, his defense lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, told a judge that her client is innocent until proven guilty but that, in the meantime, he's being treated like, quote, "political fodder."
She was really concerned about what she called this, quote, "highly choreographed perp walk" when Mangione arrived by helicopter in New York City. There were all these police officers and reporters. New York City Mayor Eric Adams even showed up. He said later that he wanted to look Mangione in the eye and let him know violence won't be tolerated in New York City. But Mangione's attorney said in court that the mayor was trying to make a spectacle of her client to detract from his own legal issues. Adams is facing federal bribery charges.
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KAREN FRIEDMAN AGNIFILO: There was zero law enforcement objective to do that sort of perp walk. There's absolutely no need for that whatsoever.
MAX: The judge presiding over the case said he'll do what he can to guarantee a fair trial.
SUMMERS: Got it. In federal court, prosecutors could seek the death penalty for Mangione. Is that likely?
MAX: So federal prosecutors haven't said whether they're going to ask for the death penalty. That decision will rest with President-elect Trump's pick for the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York if that person is confirmed by the Senate. Unlike President Biden, Trump is not against the death penalty.
And here in New York City, the U.S. Attorney's Office has pursued the death penalty in another recent case. That was Sayfullo Saipov, a professed ISIS supporter who drove down a bike path in Manhattan and killed eight people, injured others. A jury did convict him, and he faced the death penalty, but ultimately, he got a life sentence. Saipov's attorney, David Patten, told me that part of his job was to convince jurors that life imprisonment is a severe enough punishment.
DAVID PATTEN: The challenge is to keep the jurors open to the possibility that, however much anger or emotion they may feel about the offense, that death is not the answer.
MAX: So if this case goes to trial in federal court and prosecutors do seek the death penalty, a jury would decide whether to give it to Mangione, and the bar is high.
SUMMERS: In state court, Mangione is accused of murder in furtherance of terrorism. Break it down for us. What does that actually mean?
MAX: So this stems from a New York State law passed shortly after 9/11. It treats some offenses, like murder, as acts of terrorism depending on the person's intent. That allows prosecutors to seek more serious punishments. These charges are not used often, and it's particularly rare in a first-degree murder case like this. But experts say that prosecutors may have brought terrorism charges to try to pressure Mangione to plead guilty to a lesser charge, like second-degree murder.
SUMMERS: Samantha Max covers the courts and public safety for member station WNYC. Thank you.
MAX: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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