Will Luigi Mangione's Insanity Defense Work? Experts Weigh In

What's New

With so much physical evidence tying Luigi Mangione to the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, many in the legal community have suggested that an insanity defense could be the 26-year-old's best bet—if not only bet—at avoiding life behind bars.

"Insanity may be his only defense because it's a very hard case to defend on the merits and argue he wasn't the killer," Neama Rahmani, co-founder of West Coast Trial Lawyers and a former federal prosecutor, told Newsweek. "DNA, fingerprint, and ballistics evidence puts him at or near the scene. The video appears to be him, and his manifesto explains his motive. The plotting and premeditation undercut the potential insanity argument, however."

Why It Matters

Thompson was shot dead in Manhattan on December 4 while walking into UnitedHealthcare's annual investor conference at a Hilton hotel in midtown.

There was an outpour of public frustration at the insurance industry in the immediate aftermath, with some even suggesting that the murder was justified because of the thousands of medical claims that are denied by insurance companies every year.

What to Know

Outside the Manhattan courthouse where Mangione was arraigned on Monday morning, dozens of his supporters chanted, "Free, free Luigi" and "the people united will never go for profit."

Inside, Mangione, who was dressed in a red sweater, white shirt and chinos, pleaded not guilty to state murder and terror charges.

Mangione's arraignment in New York was his first court appearance in the case brought by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

Barbara McQuade, the former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, told Newsweek that in order to make the insanity defense, "a psychological expert will need to evaluate him and render an opinion."

"The discovery in these murder cases––especially because the feds are considering seeking the death penalty––will be quite extensive and the pre-trial motions voluminous," Michael McAuliffe, a former federal prosecutor and elected state attorney, told Newsweek.

Mangione is also facing charges in Pennsylvania in connection to the 3D-printed firearm and fake ID that were allegedly in his possession at the time of his arrest at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania five days after the shooting.

The 26-year-old arrived in New York, where he's facing 11 counts, last week after waiving extradition from Pennsylvania.

He has retained Karen Friedman Agnifilo, a high-profile lawyer who used to work in the Manhattan DA's office, to represent him in the New York case.

Before she took his case, Agnifilo suggested that Mangione's best defense would be to plead not guilty by reason of insanity.

During Monday's hearing, Agnifilo argued that it would be difficult for her client to get a fair trial, citing New York City Mayor Eric Adams' presence at "the biggest staged perp walk I have ever seen." Adams was photographed at the scene last Thursday when Mangione was escorted off a helicopter by dozens of heavily armed law enforcement officials.

"I am concerned about my client's right to a fair trial in this case," Agnifilo told a New York judge on Monday. "He is being prejudiced by some statements that are being made by government officials."

"There's a wealth of case law guaranteeing his right to a fair trial, but none of the safeguards have been put in place here. In fact, it's just the opposite of what's been happening," she said. "He's a young man and he's being treated like a human ping-pong ball by two warring jurisdictions here. These federal and state prosecutors are coordinating with one another and at the expense of him."

McAuliffe said that Agnifilo is "publicly pursuing a defense strategy to counteract the significant media coverage of the murder and the manhunt that ended in the capture of her client."

"In any high-profile case, initial media coverage creates an environment of attention saturation," he said. "An unusual and complicating factor in the Mangione matter is that two parallel cases now exist––one state and one federal. The enforcement authorities appear to be coordinating as to schedules so that the state murder/terrorism case may proceed first."

McAuliffe added that because the pre-trial process will not be rushed, heightened publicity surrounding the case will likely subside.

What People Are Saying

Rahmani told Newsweek: "Mangione's lawyers probably want to keep his case in New York City. It's a liberal jury pool, and his best chance of an acquittal is jury nullification. Everyone in the country has seen the video, has strong views of Mangione and health insurance companies, so a change of venue won't eliminate or even reduce to issue of pre-trial publicity."

McQuade told Newsweek: "Most defendants can get a fair trial. I am always amazed during jury selection how many people out there pay little to no attention to the news. In addition, even if some people have read or heard news reports, most can agree to set them aside and decide a case based on the facts they hear in court.

Alan Dershowitz, a constitutional lawyer well-known for representing high-profile clients like Donald Trump and O.J. Simpson, wrote in an op-ed for The Hill: "If Mangione insists on claiming he didn't do it, and refuses to plead insanity, his attorney would be in a difficult position. She would lose her credibility with the jury if she vigorously asserts that it was not him who shot Thompson. Her best tactic would be to acknowledge that the forensic evidence shows that he committed what is called 'the actus reus' — the act component of the crime of first-degree murder. She would then have the credibility to argue that he lacked the 'mens rea' — the mental elements necessary for a conviction of first- or second-degree murder or terrorism."

McAuliffe told Newsweek: "The crux of the ability for fair trials will be the jury selection process during which potential jurors are screened for bias and the ability to keep an open mind as to guilt or innocence until deliberations. As of today, nothing in the cases prohibits the jury selection process from resulting in a fair jury in either case.

What's Next

Mangione's next court date has been set for February 21.