Luigi Mangione will not face the death penalty if convicted of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a federal judge has ruled. US District Judge Margaret Garnett dismissed two of the four federal charges against the 27-year-old, including murder through use of a firearm, which carried the potential death sentence. Mangione was arrested days after he allegedly shot Thompson as he was walking into a conference on a busy Manhattan street in December 2024. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, including the two remaining federal counts of stalking and separate state murder charges. Jury selection in the federal trial is slated to begin on September 8 with opening statements starting on October 13. But state prosecutors are seeking to try Mangione as soon as July. In her ruling, Judge Garnett stated that two of the four federal charges did not 'meet the federal statutory definition of a crime of violence.' The decision was expressly made to eliminate the death penalty from the possible sentences that the jury could consider. She also noted that prosecutors can present evidence from the backpack Mangione had at the time of his arrest, which contained a ghost gun, fake IDs, and notes regarding his grievances with the healthcare system. Defense attorneys tried to argue for the dismissal of this evidence, claiming that it was obtained through an illegal search. Additionally, Mangione faces nine charges in a separate case by New York state, including second-degree murder.