this post was submitted on 16 Apr 2025
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In December, Luigi Mangione was arrested for shooting health insurance executive Brian Thompson. Last week, Trump’s attorney general, Pam Bondi, announced that she was seeking the death penalty. It’s a highly unusual announcement, since Mangione hasn’t even been indicted yet on a federal level. (He has been indicted in Manhattan.) By intervening in this high-profile case, the Trump administration has made clear that it believes that CEOs are especially important people whose deaths need to be swiftly and mercilessly avenged.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 hour ago

He'd became a martyr. The best chance way the ruling class could handle this is letting him go on the condition that he denies every publicity possible for a given years, even "just" imprisonment would communicate "we fear guys like this".

[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 hours ago
[–] [email protected] 12 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

This guy killed a patrician and now that class has totally seized controlled of government.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 hours ago
[–] [email protected] 63 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

None of this, of course, is to say that what Mangione did was justifiable or wise.

Um, fuck you? He hasn't been convicted and the author's assumption here, that Mangione is guilty of what he has been accused of, is part of the fucking problem.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 14 hours ago

Damn, when did Jacobin get soft?

[–] [email protected] 19 points 14 hours ago

He’s a real true America hero and a patriot! Que Viva Luigi!

[–] [email protected] 16 points 14 hours ago

So what are the odds of jury nullification on this case?

[–] [email protected] 104 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I'm glad they're seeking the death penalty.

Because it makes it much easier for the defence team to argue that the prosecution is trying to turn the law into a spectacle, and that Luigi should be acquitted of all charges.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 20 hours ago

It doesn't much matter if it's easier for the defense to argue that. It matters what the judge and jury find.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 23 hours ago

The federal system gives the judge a lot more power, they can basically pick the jury and evidence themselves, and appeals really, really suck.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) (1 children)

ok but killing a millionaire is defensible

[–] [email protected] 50 points 17 hours ago (2 children)

Not because they're a millionaire. Because they're a CEO whose policies directly resulted in unnecessary suffering and death.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

Billionaires do deserve to die for being billionaires though.

You can't amass that type of wealth without being responsible for human suffering en masse. It's impossible.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

yeah I think this distinction is important. we don’t need to kill the working professionals who saved money and invested wisely throughout their careers. many of those people will eventually be millionaires, but like, ones of millions.

once you get to hundreds of millions it starts to look like there was no possible moral way to arrive at that.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

We should also make a distinction for the arts and artisans. In theory, an artist can sell their work for a billion dollars, making them a billionaire. I'm fine with that, because nobody gets exploited in the process. Like if an actor or rock star charges a billion dollars for a performance, or a painter charges a billion dollars for a painting, or a carpenter charges a billion to install hardwood floors. If people are willing to pay it, then I don't really see a problem.

That said, their wealth should still be taxed like a motherfucker.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 hour ago

I think there's still a pretty solid argument that its shitty to remain a billionare. If I won that kind of money on the lottery I'd set asside enough to retire very comfortably (and still feel a little bad about it) and then build affordable housing and shit.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 13 hours ago

Agreed, its a bit like self defense or defending others.

If you are armed and see a murder about to happen you CAN legally intervene with a firearm. You do not have to standby and let someone get killed.

UHC was killing thousands and apparently the government was/is fine with it. Thus ... it was a defensive killing.

This discussion would get me banned off of Reddit (again).

[–] [email protected] 62 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 13 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

Well, we have a convicted felon and rapist as president already.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 13 hours ago

Exactly. They've set a precedent that running for office gets you out of any consequences. I really want to see what happens if Mangione runs for congress

[–] [email protected] 119 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The bullets Mangione used to kill Thomson had “deny,” “delay,” and “depose” inscribed on them.

Allegedly. The reporter forgot to be professional for a moment.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 20 hours ago
[–] [email protected] 13 points 20 hours ago

We live in a post-defensibility society.

[–] [email protected] 137 points 1 day ago (17 children)

I think the death penalty being on the table would increase the likelihood of the jury finding a reasonable doubt or jury nullification. It would only hurt the prosecution imo.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago)

There's no way this jury is going to be allowed to find him innocent much less jury nullification. If they can't be bribed they'll be threatened.

[–] [email protected] 106 points 1 day ago (5 children)

OR it's going to prejudice the jury against him, like it usually does.

When capital punishment is on the table, only people who are in favor of it are selected for the jury, and people who are in favor of state murder are MUCH more likely to return a guilty verdict than people who aren't.

That's one of hundreds of reasons why civilized legal systems don't murder prisoners anymore.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 14 hours ago

Yup. One of the main reasons people oppose the death penalty is because of the proven record of innocent people receiving death sentences. Approximately 4% of people who receive death sentences are actually innocent. We execute many innocent people in this country. The system absolutely does not operate on the principle of "it is better for 1000 guilty to go free than for one innocent to be unjustly punished."

Many oppose the death penalty because they realize just how poor our justice system is at actually determining guilt and innocence. Those who assume it is near-infallible will be much more likely to support the death penalty. So if you screen out those opposed to death sentences, you also screen out people who are more skeptical of the criminal justice system overall.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

Oh, shit! I'd really appreciate a source for that, if you have it handy

[–] [email protected] 7 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Didn't have it handy, but didn't take long to find this from Penn State, this from Cornell, and this from the US Office of Justice Programs that the DOGE kakistocracy has apparently not found yet..

[–] [email protected] 4 points 13 hours ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 3 points 13 hours ago

You're very welcome 🙂

[–] [email protected] 31 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Why the fuck does the prosecution have the ability to put punishments on the table that are known to bias jury selection?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 hours ago

Why is the jury selection not random

[–] [email protected] 44 points 1 day ago

Because the system itself is rigged in favor of the prosecution by design.

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