Luigi Mangione will not be eligible for the death penalty in his federal case for the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. A Manhattan federal judge ruled Friday that two of the most serious charges against him cannot stand.

U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett dismissed Counts Three and Four of the indictment in an order issued late Friday. Those counts accused Mangione of murdering Thompson with a firearm during a stalking episode and using a firearm with a silencer in the same incident. Both would have carried the possibility of capital punishment if he were convicted.

The remaining two counts, stalking resulting in death, carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole. Thompson was shot and killed on a midtown Manhattan street in December 2024.

Why the Judge Tossed the Death-Eligible Counts

The two dismissed counts depended on the stalking charges in Counts One and Two being legally classified as "crimes of violence" under federal law. Mangione's defense team argued that they did not meet that definition.

Judge Garnett agreed. According to a report from CNBC, she wrote that Supreme Court precedent forced her to conclude the stalking offenses did not qualify as crimes of violence, even though she admitted the legal reasoning "may strike the average person, and indeed many lawyers and judges, as tortured and strange."

Because the stalking charges did not fit the required legal category, the firearm-related counts that built on them fell apart. "The motion is GRANTED," she ruled.

Where the Case Stands Now

Mangione, 27, still faces the two stalking counts in federal court that could send him to prison for life without parole if convicted. He has pleaded not guilty. Separately, he faces murder charges in New York state court in Manhattan. State prosecutors have pushed for that trial to start in July, ahead of the federal case.

The federal government had been seeking the death penalty on the firearm counts now dismissed. The ruling removes that possibility in the federal case, though the state prosecution could still pursue harsh penalties under New York law.

The case has drawn heavy attention since Thompson's death on December 4, 2024. Mangione was arrested at a McDonald's in Altoona five days later. The dismissal of the death-eligible charges marks a significant early win for his defense team as both cases move forward.