Luigi Mangione‘s legal team tries to defend their client based on his emotional state.
The 28-year-old who is charged with the murder of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO Brian Thompsonappeared in court on Wednesday (June 17) in New York City.
Judge Gregory Carro said Luigi‘s attorneys have informed him that they will assert a psychiatric defense and attempt to show that he was suffering from “extreme emotional disturbance at the time of the incident,” per AP.
A psychiatric defense effectively means admitting the murder, but due to certain psychiatric problems.
If it turns out he was emotionally disturbed at the time, the sentence could be changed to manslaughter rather than murder, which would mean less time in prison.
This differs from an insanity defense which would allow Luigi to go to a psychiatric ward instead.
The latest development comes after a secret hearing earlier this month.
“The reasons for the sealing were to give the defense an opportunity to determine whether they were going forward with that defense and the nature of that defense,” the judge explained.
However, his lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo argued that repealing it will hurt his federal case.
“The reason we asked for the seal is that this defense is not available federally and Mr. Mangione is being prosecuted federally and this is prejudicial to his defense on the exact same facts,” the lawyer said.
His state court case is set to move forward on September 8. The federal trial is set to move forward on October 13. He faces life imprisonment in both cases.
He has pleaded not guilty to both state and federal charges related to the 2024 killing.
He recently turned 28 in prison, and received a $28,000 donation to his legal fund at the same time.
Sent to:Luigi Mangione
