Luigi Mangione, the suspect accused of fatally shooting health insurance CEO Brian Thompson in New York, is unlikely to mount an effective legal defense against the charges against him, according to experts. face.
Mr. Mangione, 26, was arrested in Pennsylvania on Monday after a multi-day, multi-state manhunt ended at a McDonalds in Altoona Township.
New York Government says forensic evidence and bullet casings linking him to the crime scene.
His lawyer, Thomas Dickey, previously told local media that he had not “seen any evidence” implicating his client.
He said Mr. Mangione will plead not guilty to the charges he faces in Pennsylvania, including firearms charges.
In New York, he was charged with second-degree murder in the killing of Mr. Thompson. The 50-year-old chief executive of UnitedHealthcare was shot and killed by a masked assailant outside a Manhattan hotel on December 4 in what authorities say was a targeted attack.
Mr. Mangione is currently being held in a state prison in Pennsylvania, where he is fighting extradition to New York to face murder charges. Officials said the legal battle over his extradition could take more than a month to resolve.
But legal experts told the BBC that his bid to oppose his extradition to New York was unlikely to succeed. However, they were able to give his defense a glimpse of the state’s evidence against him.
“I don’t even know if this is him or not,” his lawyer, Mr. Dickey, said in a recent interview with US media outlet NewsNation, referring to images of the killer. Mr. Thompson.
“We will test those and give the government the opportunity to present some evidence,” he said.
If extradited to New York to face murder charges, Mr. Mangione and his legal team will face an uphill battle as they try to mount a defense, experts said.
Mitchell Epner, a lawyer and former prosecutor based in New York, told the BBC that there were generally two approaches Mr Mangione could take if he pleaded not guilty to Mr Thompson’s murder.
“Defense number one is ‘it wasn’t me’ and defense number two is ‘it was me, but I shouldn’t be punished’ for X,” he said.
According to New York police, Mr. Mangione was found with a gun similar to the murder weapon, a silencer and fake identification, as well as three pages of handwritten notes that they believe may have a motive.
Mr Epner said the publicly available evidence to date meant denial of responsibility was “out the window”.
Another lawyer, criminal defense attorney and New York-based Professor Dmitriy Shakhnevich, said Mr. Mangione’s lawyers could also theoretically argue that an impaired “mental state” caused he was incompetent to stand trial.
“If the judge makes a decision that he misunderstands or doesn’t understand what’s going on in court, then essentially the case won’t proceed,” he said.
“He will have to stay under treatment for a period of time until he is deemed healthy, which may never be.”
That defense, Mr. Shakhnevich added, is different from an insanity defense, in which his lawyers could argue that “he was not responsible for his actions because of some mental defect.” god”.
“It could also be deemed he was not guilty because you wouldn’t meet the elements of the offense,” he said. “But again, he is not free. He will be placed in detention for a period of time, if the defense is successful.”
The start of Mr. Mangione’s legal battle prompted anonymous donors to spend thousands of dollars on his defense through online fundraising activities.
It comes as some people online have shared support for the suspect and anger at the health insurance industry. The New York City Police Department also warned that some health care executives could be in danger because of a “hit list” posted online after Mr. Thompson’s killing.
In a news release, the NYPD said some of the viral posts included the names and salaries of other insurance executives. Mock-up wanted signs featuring some of the executives have also been posted in Manhattan.
Mr. Mangione is said to have grievances with the entire industry.
Timothy Gallagher, a former FBI agent and chief executive of Nardello and Co, a global investigative firm, said the current situation means “the threat of copycats is real”.
“There are people who are upset and are watching the amount of press and attention being given to the defendant,” he said.
Mr Gallagher said there was “strong support from dark corners of the Internet” for anti-corporate causes.
“I fear that could prompt further attacks,” he said.
