Legal analyst Gregg Jarrett called out the UnitedHealthcare CEO’s alleged assassin’s outburst as a “red flag” Tuesday on Fox Business, predicting that the defense’s first legal “move” could be to have his mental health evaluated.
Luigi Mangione, 26, a native of Maryland, was seen yelling at reporters Tuesday afternoon while appearing for his extradition process in Pennsylvania, shouting, “This is clearly an injustice and an insult to the intelligence of the American people.” On “The Bottom Line,” Jarrett stated that the outburst not only signaled a need for a mental health evaluation but also suggested that Mangione’s attorney could later push for an “insanity defense” if an illness is found.
“Well, the outburst itself, Tammy, raises, to me as a former trial attorney for the defense, a red flag. I’m sure the first move that the defense will do is to have him evaluated by a psychiatrist to determine whether or not he suffers from any mental disease or defect so severe that he doesn’t know right from wrong, which is, of course, the famous insanity defense. Or they may try something shy of that called diminished capacity,” Jarret said.
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“But you look at this guy, at some point in time, he became self-radicalized and a fan of the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, apparently quoting at one point from Kaczynski, which is a false quote, that violence is not terrorism, it’s revolution and war. That was not in the Unabomber’s manifesto. So, you know, I look at this guy, I’m not trying to make any excuses for him, but I’m telling you what the defense will do,” Jarrett said. “They’re going to say something is terribly wrong with him, and then they’re going to find experts who will say exactly the same thing.”
After a nearly week-long manhunt, Mangione was arrested by authorities Monday in Altoona, Pa. in connection to the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The 50-year-old high-profile insurance company CEO was shot multiple times after walking outside his hotel in Midtown Manhattan around 6:46 a.m.
Since Mangione’s arrest, his alleged manifesto was released online, with the 26-year-old reportedly writing that he had been working alone and that his technology was locked from authorities before adding that “Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming.”
While the alleged assassin is being held at Pennsylvania’s Blair County Courthouse, the New York Police Department officially charged him Monday evening with second-degree murder, unlawful possession of a loaded firearm, possession of a suppressor, and possession of a forged instrument, according to ABC7 NY. Mangione and his team officially challenged his extradition on Tuesday, with the court giving attorneys 14 days to formally file charges against Mangione’s challenge.
Featured Image Credit: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America
