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Mangione's lawyers change stance on psychiatric protection

2026-06-19 09:18:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Mangione's lawyers change stance on psychiatric protection

Attorneys for the defendant accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson will no longer argue psychiatric defense in his state murder trial.

Luigi Mangione's lawyers changed their stance a day after telling Judge Gregory Carro they would try to show that he was suffering from "extreme emotional distress at the time of the incident."

Mangione, 28, has pleaded not guilty to federal and state charges against him in the fatal shooting of Thompson in midtown Manhattan in late 2024.

The BBC has contacted Mangione's lawyers. The Manhattan District Attorney's Office declined to comment.

The ruling's reversal came ahead of a Thursday deadline facing Mangione's legal team to provide prosecutors in the Manhattan district attorney's office with information in support of the psychiatric protection request.

If Mangione had pursued the psychiatric defense and the jury had accepted it, then he could have faced a shorter prison sentence, as he could have been convicted of involuntary manslaughter, rather than murder.

By using a psychiatric defense argument, Mangione would have essentially admitted to killing Thompson with extenuating circumstances, legal expert Richard Schoenstein told CBS.

This argument is different from a plea of ??not guilty by reason of insanity, which typically requires acquittal from the charges and a sentence that includes a psychiatric facility instead of prison.

Mangione appeared in court Wednesday as the judge spoke about his psychiatric defense planned at the time.

His next court date is set for August 11, before the state trial begins on September 8.

Mangione is also facing federal stalking charges, which could lead to a maximum sentence of life in prison.

He was arrested days after Thompson, a 50-year-old father of two, was shot from behind by a masked man on December 4, 2024, as he entered a Manhattan hotel for an annual investor conference.

 





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