Luigi Mangione protests double jeopardy as judge sets state murder trial for June 8
Mangione, 27, objected to back-to-back trials in the Brian Thompson killing, calling them duplicative under common sense definitions of double jeopardy.
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Luigi Mangione spoke out in court Friday against the prospect of consecutive murder trials in connection with the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. As court officers escorted him from the courtroom, Mangione, 27, told Judge Gregory Carro: "It's the same trial twice. One plus one is two. Double jeopardy by any commonsense definition."
The statement came after Judge Carro scheduled Mangione's state murder trial to begin June 8, positioning it three months ahead of jury selection in a parallel federal case. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to all state and federal charges related to Thompson's death.
The judge made the decision after a lengthy discussion with prosecutors and defense lawyers at the bench. Court records have not publicly explained why Mangione was ordered back to court earlier than his previously scheduled May appearance.
Mangione's objection centers on the timing and structure of the dual prosecutions. By setting the state trial date before the federal case proceeds to jury selection, the court has created a sequence in which Mangione would face trial twice on charges stemming from the same alleged conduct. Mangione characterized this arrangement as duplicative, invoking the constitutional protection against double jeopardy—the legal principle prohibiting a person from being tried twice for substantially the same offense.
The case has drawn significant attention since Thompson's death. Mangione's return to state court Friday came unexpectedly, as he had not been previously scheduled to appear until May. The summoning back to court ahead of that date raised questions about the prosecution's strategy and the court's management of the overlapping state and federal proceedings.
Both the state and federal charges relate to the same alleged incident. The decision to move forward with the state trial in June means Mangione will face one set of proceedings before the federal case reaches the jury phase, which had been scheduled for September.