Luigi Mangione speaks out after prosecutors aim to seek death penalty in murder case

Luigi Mangione has spoken out after prosecutors attempt to see the death penalty issued in the complicated murder case.

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed in what is alleged to have been a targeted attack by Mangione.

Thompson was shot twice in the back and in the leg as he left the Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan last December.

Officials later announced that a person of interest had been detained after being spotted in a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, following a tip-off from an employee at the fast-food joint.

The suspect has been charged with 11 state criminal counts in New York, including first-degree murder and murder as a crime of terrorism.

Mangione remains in custody (XNY/Star Max/GC Images)

The 26-year-old has also separately been charged for federal charges of using a firearm to commit murder and interstate stalking resulting in death, and he is currently being held in custody.

The latter charges make Mangione eligible for the death penalty.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi said previously: "Mangione’s murder of Brian Thompson - an innocent man and father of two young children - was a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.

"After careful consideration, I have directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in this case as we carry out President Trump’s agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again."

Mangione asked a federal judge in New York on Friday (April 11) to prevent the Trump administration from seeking the death penalty if he is found guilty.

Mangione pleaded not guilty to state charges in the case, though he is yet to enter a plea to federal charges.

Defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo said: "When the United States plans to kill one of its citizens, it must follow statutory and internal procedures."

Luigi Mangione could face the death penalty (Steven Hirsch - Pool/Getty Images)

She went on to say that 'Mangione seeks Court intervention now not merely because the Government has failed to follow these procedures but because it has abandoned them'.

The defense added: "The stakes could not be higher. The United States government intends to kill Mr. Mangione as a political stunt.

"We appreciate, and will address, the province and discretion of the Executive Branch of government, and how, in the usual course, courts defer to the Executive’s established procedures.

"But the Attorney General’s actions and public statements in this case have not followed the usual course. Because the Attorney General has chosen to proceed in this way, Mr. Mangione’s Due Process rights have already been violated and the manner in which the Government has acted has prejudiced the grand jury pool and has corrupted the grand jury process."