Luigi Mangione pleads guilty to killing UnitedHealthcare CEO

Luigi Mangione, who had always protested his innocence, pleaded guilty in federal court in Lower Manhattan to killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on December 4, 2024. He described suffering years of pain from a back injury and frustration with the American healthcare industry, saying he learned of a UnitedHealthcare company convention, waited outside for Thompson to arrive, and shot him, knowing it was illegal. His lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, called it "a solemn and significant day," saying Mangione has accepted full responsibility.

The case drew major publicity in part over Mangione's stance against the US healthcare industry, where 28 million people cannot get or afford insurance, but federal prosecutor Jamie McDonald said that was no excuse, calling the killing "deliberate, calculated and premeditated."

Al Jazeera's Richard Gaisford reports from New York.

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