An opinion piece this week argues Luigi Mangione might be acquitted because a public spectacle and his growing folk-hero image could overwhelm evidence, after a pretrial suppression hearing in Manhattan where prosecutors described evidence linking him to the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last year.Prosecutors at the hearing described surveillance footage, a gray backpack recovered in Central Park, a 9 millimeter handgun with a loaded magazine, a red notebook, a homemade silencer and handwriting they say plans to "wack" a health insurance executive, while defense lawyers led by Karen Friedman Agnifilo invoked the exclusionary rule to try to suppress items seized at Mangione's arrest at a McDonald's in Altoona a year ago.Judge
Gregory Carro said he hoped to finish the hearing this week before ruling whether the contested evidence can be used in the state trial, a decision that will shape the state prosecution even as separate federal murder charges proceed.