New York-based lawyer Daniel Gotlin says the “only chance” of success in the murder case of United Healthcare CEO Luigi Mangione is “some type of psychiatric defense.”
Mr. Gotlin, of Gotlin & Jaffe, successfully attempted a mental health defense in 2014 for a man accused of stabbing his mother to death.
“My guess is that instead of being convicted of murder, they should try to find some kind of psychiatric defense to mitigate that intent in hopes of being convicted of manslaughter,” he told Fox News.・Told Digital. “Even if you get a maximum sentence of eight to 24 years… you could still get out. You might spend 15, 16 to 18 years in prison, but at least you'll get out someday.”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Tuesday that a grand jury indicted Mangione on charges of first-degree murder and inciting terrorism. Two counts of second-degree murder. two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon; four counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon; one count of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon; One count of second-degree criminal possession of a counterfeit instrument.
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Luigi Mangione screams as he arrives for his extradition hearing at the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, on December 10, 2024, as he is being restrained by police. (David Dee Delgado, Fox News Digital)
Bragg said in a statement Tuesday that Mangione's alleged actions were “premeditated” and “targeted.”
Mr. Mangione faces additional charges in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested, including assault weapons and false identification.
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Under New York state law, first-degree murder only applies in certain situations, such as killing a police officer or when the crime involved torture. Second-degree murder is intentional homicide, and the maximum penalty is still life in prison.
Luigi Mangione (Obtained by Fox News Digital)
“Anyone who thinks they can win a case based on the facts [is] “They're either incompetent or completely crazy,” Gotlin said. “From what I've seen of the evidence, that's not possible.”
Evidence collected by authorities so far includes a manifest apparently found in Mangione's backpack when police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, arrested him at a McDonald's store on December 9. Authorities also claim a 3D-printed gun and suppressor were found on Mangione during the arrest match. Description of the weapon used to kill Thompson.
“The only viable possibility, in my opinion, is some kind of psychiatric defense. And I'm not saying that's a viable defense.”
Additionally, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said on December 11 that police matched the gun recovered from Mangione, Pennsylvania, to shell casings found outside the Hilton where Thompson was shot in the back on the sidewalk. . His fingerprints can also be seen on snack bar wrappers and water bottles.
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UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed in midtown Manhattan on December 4, 2024. (Businesswire | NYPD Crimestoppers)
Mangione's own lawyer had anticipated an insanity defense in an interview with CNN before she was taken into custody.
“It seems to me that the evidence that proves what he did is going to be so overwhelming that they think they might acquit him on the grounds of insanity defense,” Karen Friedman said. Agnifilo told the media.
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Her office declined comment to Fox News Digital. Mangione's Pennsylvania attorney, Thomas Dickey, did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
Luigi Mangione (Luigi Mangione/Facebook)
Still, some have suggested that the level of premeditation that appears to have gone into killing could complicate an insanity defense.
“An example of the defense of extreme emotional distress is a man approaches someone on the subway, stabs someone, then drops the knife and stands there, but he has no prior mental health problems. He was hearing voices,'' Louis Gerolmino said. A New York City criminal defense attorney argued for such a defense when he previously represented a client who stabbed his parents. “He's not planning on running away, he's not carrying false identification, he's not putting a silencer on his weapon. These are things that, no matter what you do, you don't know what you're doing. It shows that he knew what was going on.”
Another mental health option, not necessarily a defense, would be to argue that Mangione is unfit to stand trial, Gerormino said. If his lawyers are successful there, he could be hospitalized until he is well enough to appear in court and then be tried anyway.
Luigi Mangione will be taken to Blair County Court for an extradition hearing on December 10, 2024 in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. (Jeff Swensen)
Mr. Thompson, who lives in Minnesota, was ambushed by a masked gunman outside the Hilton Hotel in Manhattan about an hour and 45 minutes before he was scheduled to attend the company's announced annual shareholder meeting.
The suspect, who police believe was Mangione, is believed to have checked into an Upper West Side hostel with a false ID, paid in cash and fled the Big Apple within an hour of the killing.
The 26-year-old suspect is from Maryland and had recently lived in California and Hawaii. Mr. Mangione graduated as valedictorian from the Gilman School, a private high school for boys in Baltimore, in 2016. He then earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in computer science from the University of Pennsylvania in 2020.
United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson (AP Photo/United Health Group/File)
“The way this child behaved, it seemed like he clearly had some kind of disconnect with reality,” Gotlin said. “From what I saw, everything was going well for him. And…I'm not a psychiatrist. I've done other psychiatric cases. I mean, he's been diagnosed with schizophrenia in recent years. or some type of mental illness.'' He has been completely delusional for several years. ”
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, most cases of schizophrenia are diagnosed between the ages of 16 and 30, but men usually develop the condition in the earlier half of that range.
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United Healthcare CEO murder suspect Luigi Mangione is photographed at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania on December 9, 2024. (Pennsylvania State Police)
Experts say that despite the suspect's purported handwritten manifesto, it is too early to speculate about a possible defense or plea deal, or even his motives.
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“He may not have been sane at the time of the shooting, so it's too early to decide on a defense at this point,” said Lara Yeretzian, a Los Angeles-based criminal defense attorney who represents high-profile defendants. Ta. Michael Jackson, Scott Peterson, etc. “What are the thoughts that led Luigi Mangione to go after insurance executives? There is no indication that he was denied insurance, and that he comes from a wealthy family. So money wasn't an issue.”
“Even if he had written a manifesto, the shooting may have been the product of a delusional and unsound mind, and his lawyer will need to consider his defense before convicting him of guilt.” she added.
