"Luigi Mangione scored a major legal victory on Tuesday with a judge dismissing the two top state charges against him: first-degree murder and second-degree murder, both of which prosecutors had argued were terrorism crimes. Mangione still faces an additional second-degree murder charge, as well as a federal murder charge, in the killing of United HealthCare executive Brian Thompson last December. The judge overseeing Mangione's state criminal case, Gregory Carro, laid out his ruling in a written decision that was posted during a 15-minute proceeding in Manhattan court on Tuesday."
"Counts 1 and 2, charging defendant with Murder in the First Degree (in furtherance of an act of terrorism) and Murder in the Second Degree as a Crime of Terrorism, are dismissed as legally insufficient, Carro wrote. The People presented legally sufficient evidence of all other counts, including Murder in the Second Degree (intentional). Mangione also faces federal charges for allegedly gunning down Thompson outside a hotel, and weapons possession counts."
"He entered the Manhattan courtroom just before 9.30am, wearing khaki jail scrubs, with handcuffed wrists and shackled ankles. His appearance came six days after the rightwing commentator Charlie Kirk was shot dead during an event at Utah Valley University. The shootings of Thompson and Kirk prompted highly politicized rhetoric. Although a motive in Kirk's shooting remains unknown, conservatives have used the incident to call for the investigation of progressive political groups."
Judge Gregory Carro dismissed two top state charges against Luigi Mangione as legally insufficient: Murder in the First Degree (in furtherance of an act of terrorism) and Murder in the Second Degree as a Crime of Terrorism. Mangione still faces an additional state charge of second-degree intentional murder and federal murder and weapons charges related to the December killing of United HealthCare executive Brian Thompson. The judge posted a written decision during a 15-minute Manhattan court proceeding. Mangione appeared in khaki jail scrubs, handcuffed and shackled. The killings have prompted politicized rhetoric, calls for investigations, and federal pursuit of the death penalty.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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