Luigi Mangione’s attorneys have asked a federal court to block the government from seeking the death penalty in his case, saying that the manner in which U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the government’s intentions was “political and arbitrary.”
In a court filing Friday, Mangione’s attorneys argued that the government breached the protocol for seeking the death penalty, prejudicing the case and the potential grand jury pool. They pointed to three of Bondi’s public statements about Mangione: her April 1 press release announcing she directed prosecutors to seek the death penalty; a post on her newly created Instagram account that painted Mangione, who has not yet been indicted on federal charges, “as guilty of murder”; and a Fox News appearance in which she talked about Mangione’s federal case.
They wrote:
The Attorney General’s pattern of public statements show with remarkable clarity and consistency that she has ordered this capital prosecution unabashedly for political reasons, that her statements prejudice any potential grand jury pool, and that the victim’s professional status as a CEO was relevant to her decision. As will be shown below, her decision was also reached without any regard to the established Department of Justice death penalty protocol, which she has wholly abandoned.
“The stakes could not be higher,” his attorneys said. “The United States government intends to kill Mr. Mangione as a political stunt.”
His attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo condemned Bondi’s directive shortly after it was announced, calling it “barbaric” and “political.” The latest court filing takes that line of attack a step further, as his attorneys argue that not only was Bondi’s directive political, but her real intention in announcing the move so publicly was to garner “press attention.”
Among other examples, they said she timed the launch of her Instagram account “specifically around the Mangione press release.”
“She ordered the death penalty and publicly released her order so she would have ‘content’ for her newly launched Instagram account,” they said, adding that her post bore “no indication that this defendant is presumed innocent.”
Mangione has yet to be indicted on federal charges in the killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO in December. He is being held in federal custody as New York state prosecutors pursue their case against him.
Mangione also faces state charges in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested days after the killing. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.