Mangione Withdraws Mental-Health Defense Notice, Keeping Murder Charge Intact in State Case

Luigi Mangione’s legal team withdrew its notice of a psychiatric defense in Manhattan Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon, one day after submitting documents that said it planned to use the argument. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro had ordered the defense to disclose specifics about the mental-health claim to prosecutors by the end of that day.

” The order required Mangione’s lawyers to turn over psychological examinations and medical history.

Prosecutors would also have been permitted to have their own doctor examine Mangione. Mangione, 28, is charged with killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Midtown sidewalk in December 2024. He has pleaded not guilty in both his state and federal cases.

The mental-health defense, which can reduce a murder charge to manslaughter in New York, is not available in federal court. Defense lawyers Karen Friedman Agnifilo and Marc Agnifilo did not explain the withdrawal in court filings. ” Neama Rahmani said the withdrawal may have been intended to keep psychiatric records from discovery.

“It would open his psychiatric records to discovery, and there may be something in there the defense does not want the prosecution to see,” Rahmani stated. Kuby previously represented Gigi Jordan, who was convicted of manslaughter rather than murder after he presented a mental-health defense based on her testimony.

Mangione’s lawyers can still present a limited mental-health argument in state court without formally noticing the defense or introducing medical evidence.