Luigi Mangione will not face the death penalty after judge nixes two federal counts
NBC7 hrs
Judge Dismisses Death Penalty Counts Against Mangione
Is this rightful humiliation for an overly vengeful Trump DOJ or a mockery of justice on a technicality?
Above: Luigi Mangione in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on Dec. 16, 2025. Image credit: Curtis Means-Pool/Getty Images
The Spin
Democratic narrative
The DOJ's death penalty pursuit against Mangione was a politically motivated spectacle that rightfully failed. A federal judge correctly dismissed the charges on legal grounds, finding prosecutors overreached by trying to classify stalking as the required concurrent violent act. Trump's DOJ wanted an execution but couldn't make the law fit their agenda.
Republican narrative
This was premeditated murder caught on camera — a calculated execution with bullets etched with intent. Mangione planned the killing, hunted down his victim and shot him in the back. Dismissing death penalty charges on a technicality when the evidence is this overwhelming makes a mockery of justice. If this doesn't warrant the death penalty, what does?
Public Figures
Political split
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© 2026 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 6.18.0
© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.
All rights reserved.
Version 6.18.0