The death penalty still hangs over Luigi Mangione’s head for the brutal killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. During a court hearing on Friday, January 9, 2026, a judge said Mangione’s federal death penalty trial could begin before the year is up. The defense is bidding to bar the government from making this a capital case, and since they have been successful in other barriers, they may prevail. 

Pretrial Conference

The United States District Judge Margaret Garnett said Friday she expects Mangione’s trial to begin in December or, if the death penalty is still on the table, January 2027, as federal prosecutors suggest. If the defense is successful, and death is no longer an option, the trial could begin earlier in October 2026. 

Regardless of the outcome of the death penalty, Judge Garnett said the court should prepare for jury selection to begin around September 8, 2026, for Mangione’s federal trial, and the state trial date has yet to be scheduled. Garnett will issue a written schedule once she reviews her calendar and notes of conversations she has had with the court’s jury coordinator.

Garnett said she would rule on the defense’s requests to remove the death penalty from the case at a later date. In addition, the defense is seeking to throw out two of the four charges, including the murder by firearm, and exclude specific evidence, which will also be decided later. The next pretrial conference is scheduled for the end of this month, on January 30. 

Mangione’s lawyers argue that authorities prejudiced his case at the beginning when they made his arrest and transportation to prison, a major motion picture. From the moment Mangione was put in handcuffs outside the Altoona McDonald’s, they have been publicly calling for his execution, even before he was formally charged. 

Federal prosecutors pushed back on Mangione’s defense, arguing that the murder charge, which allows for them to seek the death penalty, is legally sufficient and the “pretrial publicity, even when intense,” does not go against his constitutional rights.

They claim that any concerns about how the public perceives Mangione can be alleviated by careful screening of prospective jurors and by ensuring they have sufficient knowledge of the case. However, this logic is highly flawed in the sense that every citizen is aware of Mangione in some capacity and has already formed an opinion on him as a person.

Trip to Manhattan

After his December 2024 arrest, Mangione pleaded not guilty to federal and state murder charges. His most recent hearing on Friday was his first trip to Manhattan federal court since he was arraigned on April 25, 2025. Mangione’s case drew supporters to the courthouse, some wearing green clothing and carrying signs in favor of freeing him or removing the death penalty.

Mangione wore a beige jail uniform that greatly complements his skin tone and was alert during the three-hour proceedings, but did not speak once. Upon entering the courtroom, he professionally greeted his attorneys, Karen Friedman Agnifilo and Marc Agnifilo, and nodded along while they read documents. 

Contents of Mangione’s Backpack 

In addition to arguing that the death penalty be removed, the defense has also requested that the government be prevented from using certain items found in his backpack during his arrest, such as the infamous spiral notebook containing a manifest and the gun. While prosecutors insist the police were justified in searching Mangione’s backpack at the McDonald’s, his defense attorneys claim it was unlawful, and they obtained the contents illegally.

UnitedHealthcare CEO Killed

Brian Thompson, 50, was killed on December 4, 2024, outside a Manhattan hotel where he was attending the UnitedHealth Group’s annual investor conference. Surveillance footage captured the Thompsons’ final moments before he was gunned down and killed from behind. A masked man approached from behind and shot him several times. Police report the bullet casings found at the scene read, “delay,” “deny,” and “depose,” which allegedly connect to a phrase used to describe how insurance agencies avoid paying out. 

The 27-year-old Ivy League-educated Luigi Mangione, born into a wealthy Maryland family, was arrested nearly a week later inside a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. His case was instantly publicized, and authorities treated him as if he were the next Ted Bundy. In 2025, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced she was in support of federal prosecutors seeking the death penalty and declared that it was warranted for a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.”