Mangione team to argue in murder trial defendant acted as result of extreme emotional disturbance

Lawyers of the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in 2024 will argue that their client was experiencing extreme emotional disturbance at the time of the shooting. 

At a hearing for Luigi Mangione on Wednesday, Judge Gregory Carro said he would unseal records related to a defense in which defendants admit to the charges but argue they can't be held liable because they were experiencing an extreme emotional disturbance at the time, according to CNN. 

The defense is available under New York state law for those accused of murder. 

A hearing for Mangione earlier this month was sealed at the defendant's request. Mangione's lawyers argued the hearing would have been "very prejudicial" to their client if they decided not to move forward with this type of defense. 

Carro gave Mangione's lawyers until Thursday to turn over information related to the extreme emotional disturbance defense, including the name of their psychiatric expert. Further delay, he said, could preclude Mangione from using the defense at trial. 

Prosecutors "need to know what the malady is that this defendant suffers and how that triggered an extreme emotional disturbance at the time and place of the occurrence. Nothing is going to be a surprise. I’m not going to let you surprise the people on the eve of the trial," Carro said. 

Mangione pleaded not guilty to murder and weapons charges in the 2024 fatal shooting.