(Adnkronos) – Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old Italian-American indicted for the murder of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare shot dead on a Manhattan street last Wednesday, will oppose extradition from Pennsylvania, where he was arrested, to New York State. This will allow the transfer to be blocked for weeks, giving lawyers for the young man, who comes from a wealthy and prominent Italian-American family in Maryland, more time to organize his defense.
His lawyer, Thomas Dickey, has in fact already stated, in several interviews, that his client will plead not guilty to the charges for which he was arrested in Pennsylvania and will do the same for the murder charges in New York. He will then return to ask for bail, which was denied yesterday at the hearing, during which Mangione shouted: “this makes no sense and is an insult to the intelligence of Americans”.
“I believe he has the right to bail, whether it’s $100 million, $10 billion, or $100,000, he has the right to bail,” Dickey told NBC, justifying his client’s outburst – “it’s natural, he’s going through a very emotional time” – but expressing hope that it will be the last.
Regarding the fact that his client – who at the time of his arrest was found in possession of a ghost gun, similar to the one used in the murder, a mask like the killer’s, a fake New Jersey ID that matches the one used at a New York hostel, and a document that appears to claim credit for the action against healthcare insurance greed – will plead not guilty, the attorney invoked the “presumption of innocence until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt”.
“Look, we have not seen any evidence that he was the one who shot,” he told reporters. Meanwhile, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that she will sign the Manhattan district attorney’s request to force Mangione’s extradition to “ensure that the individual is prosecuted and held accountable.”
