Luigi Mangione, the man accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson, will not face the death penalty if convicted, a court has ruled.
US District Judge Margaret Garnett dismissed the federal firearms charges against the 27-year-old that carried the possibility of capital punishment.
He will still face stalking charges, which can bring a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Mangione was arrested days after he allegedly shot Thompson as the health insurance firm CEO walked into a New York City hotel on 4 December 2024. He has pleaded not guilty to all federal and state charges.
After the ruling, Mangione's attorney Karen Agnifilo thanked the court for this incredible decision, according to the BBC's US partner CBS News.
We're all very relieved, she said. We're prepared, and have been prepared, to fight this case, and we look forward to fighting this case.
In her ruling, Garnett, an appointee of former US President Joe Biden, said two of the four federal charges did not meet the federal statutory definition of a 'crime of violence' as a matter of law.
She noted that her decision was solely to foreclose the death penalty as an available punishment to be considered by the jury.
Garnett's ruling was a setback for the justice department, which had called Thompson's murder a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination.
The judge has given the government 30 days to challenge her decision to rule out the death penalty in the case.
In a win for prosecutors, Garnett said they could present evidence to the jury from Mangione's backpack that he had at the time of his arrest at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
Among the items in the bag were a gun, fake IDs, and a notebook with writings that allegedly detailed Mangione's grievances against the US healthcare system.
Defense attorneys had sought to dismiss that evidence from trial, arguing that authorities obtained it illegally without a warrant.
Mangione, an Ivy League graduate from a wealthy Maryland family, is also facing nine charges in a separate case brought by New York state prosecutors, including second-degree murder.
Thompson, a 50-year-old father of two, was shot from behind by a masked gunman as he walked into a Manhattan hotel for an annual investor conference.
Investigators say the words deny, defend, and depose were written on shell casings found at the scene of Thompson's murder, possibly referencing the three Ds of insurance - tactics used by companies to reject payment claims by patients.
Jury selection in the federal trial is due to begin on 8 September, with opening statements expected on 13 October. However, state prosecutors aim to try Mangione as soon as July.
In a separate incident, a Minnesota man was arrested for allegedly impersonating an FBI agent in an attempt to free Mangione from the Brooklyn jail where he is being held. The suspect, Mark Anderson, was reportedly carrying a barbecue fork and pizza cutter, and is now being held at the same facility as Mangione.
