MANHATTAN — ONE OF THE METROPOLITAN DETENTION CENTER’S most famous residents will assert a psychiatric defense in his state murder trial over the shooting of an insurance CEO, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday morning.
Luigi Mangione, appearing in state Supreme Court on Wednesday, will assert a psychiatric defense in the state case over his Dec. 4, 2024, killing of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare. Mangione also faces a separate federal case.
Mangione’s legal team told State Supreme Court Judge Gregory Carro that they aim to prove their client was suffering from “extreme emotional disturbance at the time of the occurrence.” Doing so differs from a plea of “not guilty by reason of insanity,” in which case Mangione would be admitting guilt. Instead the action seeks to prove that his actions were driven by mitigating circumstances, the Associated Press explained. If a jury decides that Mangione was emotionally disturbed they could hand back a lesser conviction of manslaughter, which would mean less time in prison.
Although Carro was set to unseal the proceedings of a secret hearing held two weeks ago, defense lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo said doing so could jeopardize his federal case.
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