Luigi Mangione‘s legal team is attempting to defend their client on the basis of his emotional state.
The 28-year-old, who is facing charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, appeared in court on Wednesday (June 17) in New York City.
Judge Gregory Carro said Luigi‘s lawyers have informed him they will assert a psychiatric defense and attempt to show that he was suffering from “extreme emotional disturbance at the time of the occurrence,” per AP.
A psychiatric defense effectively means admitting to the killing, but due to certain psychiatric issues.
If he’s found to have been emotionally disturbed at the time, the conviction could change to manslaughter rather than murder, which would mean less time in prison.
This differs from a defense of insanity, which would allow Luigi to go to a psychiatric facility instead.
The latest development comes after a secret hearing earlier this month.
“The reasons for the sealing was to give the defense an opportunity to determine whether they were going forth with that defense and the nature of that defense,” the judge explained.
However, his lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo argued that unsealing it will harm his federal case.
“The reason why we asked for the sealing is that this defense is not available federally and Mr. Mangione is being prosecuted federally and this is prejudicial to his defense to the exact same facts,” the lawyer said.
His state trial is set to move forward on September 8. The federal trial is set to move forward on October 13. He faces life in prison in both cases.
He’s pled not guilty to both state and federal charges connected to the 2024 killing.
He recently turned 28 in prison, and received a $28,000 donation to his legal fund at the same time.
Posted To:Luigi Mangione
