Spanish
The New York judge in charge of the state case of Luigi Mangione, accused of fatally shooting the CEO of UnitedHealthcare last December, dismissed on Tuesday the terrorism-related charges against the young man.
"I have reviewed the evidence and the motions (from both sides). Regarding counts 1 and 2, murder as an act of terrorism, the evidence presented by the grand jury was legally insufficient," Judge Gregory Carro indicated in a hearing held today in a court in the Big Apple.
Regarding the other charges, one of second-degree murder and eight others related to weapons possession, Carro stated that the evidence had been "sufficient".
In a room full of journalists and about twenty supporters who came to show their support, the 27-year-old appeared in the room with shorter hair than in the last hearings, wearing a khaki-colored prisoner's uniform and with his hands handcuffed.
Mangione briefly fixed his gaze on the audience sitting in the last rows, which was composed almost entirely of women, with the exception of a single man.
Among the followers, some wore t-shirts that read "Free Luigi" and many took notes in their notebooks of what the judge said.
In addition to his state case, Mangione faces a federal trial also in New York in which the prosecution has requested the death penalty for him, as well as another legal process in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested at a McDonald's restaurant.
Mangione's defense, made up of the media-savvy couple Karen and Marc Agnifilo - the latter also legal representative of the rapper Sean 'Diddy' Combs - had asked the judge to dismiss all charges in his state trial.
The Agnifilo argued that the existence of both processes (federal and state) constitute double jeopardy or criminal incrimination, a legal principle that prohibits a person from being tried twice for the same crime.
However, in a document published at the same time as today's brief hearing, Carro rejected this idea and opted to continue with the legal process.
In addition, the judge scheduled Mangione's next hearing for December 1st.
An audience devoted to Mangione and critical of the insurers
Since his arrest on December 19th, after a several-day escape, Mangione has attracted the attention of a part of the American population that calls for his release and denounces the "faulty" system of the country's medical insurers. In fact, dozens of the young man's supporters gathered outside the courthouse, carrying banners with slogans such as "health before wealth." Some even wore Luigi hats and costumes, the characteristic character from the Mario Bros. video game.
Since his arrest on December 19th, after a several-day escape, Mangione has attracted the attention of a part of the American population that calls for his release and denounces the "faulty" system of the country's medical insurers. In fact, dozens of the young man's supporters gathered outside the courthouse, carrying banners with slogans such as "health before wealth." Some even wore Luigi hats and costumes, the characteristic character from the Mario Bros. video game.
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Also, a truck was going around the block projecting on its screens Mangione's face and the stories of people who have seen their health worsen by not being treated by insurance companies. For example, at one point the vehicle projected an image of a man leaning on a walker in which it read: "The denial of his (medical) insurance cost him his leg".
