Don't let death penalty turn Luigi Mangione into a martyr

The death penalty should be off the table for Luigi Mangione, accused killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. And not for any reason sympathetic to Mangione.

Attaching the death penalty to Mangione's trial would only make a martyr out of an accused killer who has already inspired zealous support among legions of fans.

Ever since Mangione allegedly gunned down Thompson in a December dawn ambush in New York, the 26-year-old was refashioned into a modern-day hero by those angry with health care in America, and the health insurance industry in particular.

After his eventual arrest in an Altoona, PA McDonalds, spurred by a tip from a worker who recognized Mangione, the restaurant was swamped with negative reviews and had to hire private security to protect workers, Newsweek reported.

His legal defense fund has raised over $722,000 as of this month, according to the New York Post.

"People are raising money not for his innocence, but because they're in support of allegedly what he did," NewsNation legal contributor Jesse Weber said on "Elizabeth Vargas Reports."

And that's the problem - Mangione's alleged actions are seen by far too many as justified. Mangione is lauded, swooned over, and fiercely protected by his fans.

After a riot allegedly broke out at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn holding Mangione, The December 4 Legal Committee, organizers of a fundraiser for Mangione, commented: "The authorities should know that social consequences will be high if anything happens to Luigi."

Thompson's teen sons, now fatherless? Barely a mention. The grief of his widow and loved ones? That's not what Mangione fans care about.

"Luigi Mangione's murder of Brian Thompson - an innocent man and father of two young children - was a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America," Attorney General Pam Bondi said Tuesday in a statement.

Bondi is half right. Thompson's killing shocked some in America, and fanned the flames of righteous vigilantism in others. We live in a time when Americans who don't like what Elon Musk is doing with his Department of Government Efficiency feel validated in setting fire to Teslas in dealerships, or vandalizing the vehicles when they find them on the street.

This comes under the aegis of "resistance," and unfortunately, too many see Mangione's alleged acts the same way.

With the death penalty on the table, pro-Mangione zealotry would only get worse. The "free Luigi" crowd would out roar any outrage over Thompson's murder and his family's suffering. The fans who send gifts and letters to Mangione in prison now would only double down on their devotion.

And let's not forget those who warn of high "social consequences" "if anything happens to Luigi."

The next hearing in Mangione's federal case is scheduled for April 18 in New York. He also faces six charges in New York state, with a hearing scheduled for June 26. But it's not the evidence that will speak the loudest. It's the mob incited by anger over bad treatment at the hands of health insurers who see Mangione as their champion.

The court of public opinion ? at least the public wearing Mangione T-shirts ? has already declared him innocent, or at the very least justified in his alleged actions. The best way to save a shred of justice for Thompson's family is to keep the death penalty from making the trial of his accused killer into a complete circus.