Why Luigi Mangione may never be convicted of murder as his state case hangs by a thread
Luigi Mangione may never be convicted of murder following his bombshell decision to plead guilty to federal stalking charges Friday — thanks to “creative lawyering” that leaves his state case hanging in the balance, experts told The Post.Just hours after the healthcare-hating pretty boy copped to charges in Manhattan federal court, which could land him life behind bars, his bulldog legal team filed papers asking to have his separate state murder case tossed out over double jeopardy.It’s a technical move that could cost Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg a marquee conviction in one of the biggest cases of his career.“It’s very creative lawyering by his lawyers to do this,” said Mark Bederow, a veteran Big Apple attorney and former Manhattan DA prosecutor.“The loser here is the Manhattan DA.”Mangione’s attorneys Marc Agnifilo and wife Karen Friedman Agnifilo argue that trying the 28-year-old killer on a state case — on charges of second-degree murder and various firearms counts — would constitute double jeopardy.
Double jeopardy laws protect people from being prosecuted twice for the same crime.They say that although the charges Mangione faced in the state and federal cases were different, they stemmed from the same crime — the cold-blooded 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.Former prosecutor Neama Rahmani explained the Empire State has a special law that “says that there cannot be a second or subsequent prosecution in New York State Court arising from the same transaction or occurrence as a previous case.“So that’s the magic language, the same transaction or occurrence,” he said.Both lawyers said it’s likely that Mangione will see the state murder charges thrown out.“It is essentially the same facts,” Bederow said of the state and federal cases.
“I mean, the only real difference is the federal charges include the stalking component.But ultimately, it’s shooting and killing Brian Thompson.”The only...