A New York state judge dismissed the most serious charges against Luigi Mangione but allowed some murder counts to stand, ruling that the evidence was insufficient to charge him with an act of terrorism.
But Judge Gregory Carro at a brief hearing Tuesday allowed prosecutors to pursue second-degree murder charges and several other counts against Mangione, who is accused of gunning down health-care executive Brian Thompson. The ruling means that he won’t face the prospect of life in prison without parole.
Mangione still faces federal murder charges in a case in which prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. The ruling is a major setback for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who had sought to show that state prosecutors could take a tough stance in the high-profile case.
The 27-year-old was charged with fatally shooting Thompson, a UnitedHealth Group Inc. executive, outside a midtown Manhattan hotel last year before fleeing and touching off a manhunt that ended days later with his arrest at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Mangione has become a folk hero for many who say he expressed their rage at the health-care system.
The judge dismissed both first- and second-degree murder charges as an act of terrorism. Prosecutors had said that the shooting was intended to intimidate workers in the health-care industry, but the judge rejected that argument.
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