Attorneys for Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York, are meeting federal prosecutors on Friday amid US media reports of a potential plea agreement.
Mangione faces two federal charges of stalking resulting in death, each carrying a maximum sentence of life in prison. It was not immediately clear which charges are under discussion.
“There’s a conference scheduled for 11 am on Friday, and that’s all we can say at this time,” Jamie McDonald, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), said this week.
Mangione also faces a separate state trial over Thompson’s death. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges in both cases.
Discussion of a plea deal does not guarantee one will be reached, and such arrangements can fall apart before they are finalised.
Deals must also be approved by the court, and a separate hearing is typically scheduled for the defendant to enter a new plea.
Federal prosecutors brought the stalking charges against Mangione, alleging he travelled between states and carried out electronic surveillance with the intention of killing or harming Thompson. Prosecutors allege those actions resulted in Thompson’s death.
A federal judge threw out two other charges in January, including that of murder through use of a firearm, which had carried the possibility of the death penalty.
Mangione’s attorneys, the SDNY, and Manhattan District Attorney’s office did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment.
His attorneys have previously argued he should not be tried in both state and federal court. At the moment, the judges presiding over both cases have allowed the trials to proceed.
But if Mangione pleads guilty in his federal case, it could open the door for his attorneys to argue the state case runs afoul of double jeopardy – a constitutional protection that prevents an individual from being prosecuted twice for the same crime.
New York’s state constitution has its own prohibition on double jeopardy, which, if invoked here, could have a knock-on effect on Mangione’s upcoming state trial.
“If a federal prosecution has been completed on a matter, the state cannot prosecute the matter on those same facts,” said Mitchell Epner, a white-collar attorney.
There is still little clarity on what happens to the state case in that scenario.
Mark Chutkow, a white-collar defence attorney at the Dkyema law firm, says it is “kind of a live issue”.
He says the judge in the state trial would have to determine whether the charges overlap enough to trigger New York’s double jeopardy statute, while Manhattan prosecutors may argue their case is distinct enough to proceed.
Mangione’s state trial is scheduled to begin on 8 September, while the federal trial is listed for January 2027.
