Luigi Mangione's legal team has abruptly withdrawn their psychiatric defense strategy without explanation.
According to Rolling Stone, the defense filed notice on Thursday withdrawing their intent to argue an "extreme emotional disturbance" defense. This came one day after a New York state judge unsealed documents revealing they had been planning exactly that.
In a one-sentence email, Mangione's attorneys—Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Marc Agnifilo, and Jacob Kaplan—stated: "The defense respectfully withdraws CPL 250.10 notice at this time." They provided no explanation for the reversal.
Judge Gregory Carro had unsealed the psychiatric defense notice on Wednesday, which revealed the team was potentially going to argue that Mangione was in extreme emotional distress due to his experiences with the healthcare industry when he allegedly shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Under that defense, if a jury accepted it, the murder charge could have been reduced to manslaughter.
Carro had ordered the defense to submit all paperwork by Thursday or risk losing the option to use this defense. They met the deadline by withdrawing it.
When Rolling Stone contacted both the defense and prosecution, both refused to comment. The shift leaves the defense strategy for the state murder trial, set to begin in September, unclear.
One possible explanation: the psychiatric defense does not apply in federal court, and Mangione faces federal charges as well. Defense attorney Friedman Agnifilo had previously argued for sealing the psychiatric notice because of how it could affect the federal case.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
