Risk Luigi Mangione Trial Ends in Hung Jury ‘Absolutely’ Elevated—Lawyer

What’s New

The jury trial against Luigi Mangione, the alleged assassin of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO Brian Thompson, faces an “absolutely” elevated risk of a hung jury, former federal prosecutor Elie Honig said Thursday.

Why It Matters

Mangione, who faces federal charges of murder and stalking, as well as New York State charges, including murder in furtherance of terrorism, will face a jury next year, although a trial date has not yet been set.

In a criminal trial, a jury must find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; if not, the defendant is deemed not guilty. A non-unanimous jury is considered hung.

“I was always worried about jury nullification even in the most routine cases I handled as a prosecutor. All it takes is one juror and you have a hung jury,” Honig, who served as an assistant U.S. attorney, said during a CNN segment on Thursday.

He added that the “risk here absolutely is elevated,” noting that he has “never seen an outpouring of affection and support for a defendant charged with a vicious murder like we have in this case.”

In the days following Thompson’s murder, Mangione has received financial and social support from numerous individuals, many who have also expressed frustration with health insurance companies.

Honig noted that “the jury selection process is really effective, not perfect, but really effective at weeding out people who were biased,” adding that there are “important systemic controls,” regarding jury participation.

Newsweek has reached out to several legal scholars for comment via email on Friday.

What To Know

On December 4, Thompson was fatally shot by a masked gunman as he was walking to his company’s annual investor conference at the New York Hilton Midtown. Days later, Mangione, 26, was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He has pleaded not guilty to forgery and weapons charges filed against him in the Keystone State.

Mangione was extradited from Pennsylvania to New York City on Thursday where he was escorted by dozens of police officers and New York City Mayor Eric Adams. He is being held at Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has indicted Mangione and will be leading the state charges against him.

Earlier this year, Bragg oversaw the prosecution of then-former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial. In May, a Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records related to hush money paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 presidential election. Trump denies Daniels’ allegations that the two had a sexual encounter in 2006 and has maintained his innocence, calling the case politically motivated.

Honig, a senior CNN legal analyst, noted on Thursday that during jury selection in Trump’s trial “half of the jury just got up and walked out because they felt they were too biased.”

Luigi Mangione, the suspect indicted in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is seen arriving at the South Street Helipad in New York City on December 19 after being extradited from Pennsylvania. The jury…

XNY/Star Max/GC Images)

What People Are Saying

Barbara McQuade, former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, told Newsweek in an email on Friday: “I think the jury selection process will weed out individuals who might be inclined to nullify the law in this case. The defense will not be permitted to argue that the murder was justified under the law, and so the evidence will focus on whether he committed this crime.”

Attorney and former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani previously told Newsweek: “I’ve never seen an alleged murderer receive so much sympathy. To many people, Mangione is a hero of sorts,” adding that Bragg’s “office is going to have to weed out ‘stealth jurors’ during voir dire. They may want to acquit to send a message to health insurance companies.”

Bragg said at a press conference Tuesday: “This was a frightening, well-planned, targeted murder that was intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation. It occurred in one of the most bustling parts of our city, threatening the safety of local residents and tourists alike, commuters and businesspeople just starting out on their day.”

Senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats, in Jacobin: “What you’re seeing, the outpouring of anger at the insurance companies, is a reflection of how people feel about the current health care system. It is broken. It is cruel.”