The Department of Justice announced on Tuesday that Attorney General Pam Bondi has “directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty” in the case against Luigi Mangione. He is charged with killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Dec. 4 in New York City. Thompson, a father of two, was fatally shot in the back in a crime caught on CCTV.
The crime itself was a horrific taking of an innocent life. That Mangione has achieved celebrity status since then compounds the horror. Immediately following the announcement, donations began pouring in for Mangione. Since December, a GiveSendGo campaign has been raking in funds for his defense team. Adding the death penalty to the table has increased that level of support.
Recent donors left notes, including “I was shocked and disappointed when I read the news yesterday,” “Nauseous all day after learning of the directive from the AG,” and, alarmingly, “I despise murder, however I am donating, as a physician, to bring awareness to the shameful tactics of the health insurance carriers.” Donations now exceed $828,000 of a $1 million goal.
While some observers argue against capital punishment in general, others say applying it in this case only makes Mangione more of a martyr. The response to these claims should be: So what? If anything has been clear since Thompson’s cold-blooded killing, it’s that no matter the outcome of the case and sentence imposed, a certain segment of the population will always view Luigi Mangione as a selfless Robin Hood-type figure based on their own warped sense of morality.
Thompson did not deserve death because he was a health insurance CEO. The death penalty applies in this case because of the vicious nature of the crime and the premeditation involved. It does not matter whether Mangione’s fans will grow more sympathetic as a result. They were lost from before the moment he pulled the trigger.
It is largely the younger, terminally online generation viewing the alleged killer with far more sympathy than they do the victim. But their ethical deficits and emotional displays should not sway those involved in the prosecution from doing the right thing, both morally and legally. No one should be murdered because of his or her employment, even in an industry that has a terrible reputation. This is a basic standard of decency the vast majority of society should readily accept.
Mangione’s alleged desire to change things for the better by taking an innocent human life only made his and others’ lives worse. It’s hardly surprising that bloodshed wasn’t going to improve a complicated health insurance industry. His and his supporters’ actions and reactions are emotional and destructive.
In California, a ballot initiative called the Luigi Mangione Act was proposed by retired litigator Paul Eisner. Among other things, the initiative says, “No insurer may delay, deny or modify any medical procedure or medication … recommended by a treating or attending physician where the delay, denial or modification could result in disability, death, amputation, permanent disfigurement, [or] loss or reduction of any bodily function.”
While the health insurance and healthcare industries are certainly in need of improvement and overhaul, attaching an alleged murderer’s name to an act meant to help others is downright evil. (Beyond that, there are major questions about whether such an act would drive up costs or cause health insurers to abandon California.) Mangione should never be rewarded. Killing Brian Thompson was inexcusable, no matter the mental gymnastics some engage in. Mangione should be remanded to a prison cell, not celebrated.
DOJ CALLS FOR DEATH PENALTY FOR LUIGI MANGIONE IN UNITEDHEALTHCARE CEO MURDER CASE
Luigi Mangione’s trial and the news coverage will be a circus. Sadly, the fact that an innocent man and father of two was gunned down will largely be forgotten. In its place is the most distorted kind of hero worship.
Bondi made the right decision. If anything, premeditation and cold-blooded murder earn you the death penalty. No matter the frustrations and problems with the health insurance industry, the kind of evil allegedly perpetrated by Mangione is not to be tolerated.
Kimberly Ross (@SouthernKeeks) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog and a contributing freelance columnist at the Freemen Newsletter.