Luigi Mangione is expected to plead guilty as early as Friday in the federal case accusing him of stalking and killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a stunning development in a case that rattled business leaders while galvanizing their critics, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Well yeah. There’s no federal murder charge. Stalking can still carry a life sentence but he’d likely get less than that.
But, settling the federal case can kill the state case if the federal case is done first.
If the state case gets underway before the federal case is resolved, there’s no federal double jeopardy law to kill the federal case so he could still be convicted in both.
It’s always going to be better to only have one case at the federal level than convictions at the state and federal level.
It’s a big risk, in my opinion.
If I were the rich and powerful who are trying to make an example of him, I’d be pulling every lever of power to make sure the federal case is delayed and the state charges go through with his plea as evidence.
Well thats not a risk. The risk would be continuing on, which would open the door to the delays and the state charges.
Once he pleads guilty and it’s accepted, the case is done. Sentencing is post trial stuff. A delay in sentencing doesn’t affect getting the state case tossed on double jeopardy. Taking it to trial would allow the state case to continue.
TIL
Fair enough