Winning a "Jury Nullification" Verdict in the Murder Trial of Luigi Mangione

By: Donald V. Watkins

Copyrighted and Published on December 13, 2024

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson (left) was murdered last week in Manhattan. Luigi Mangione (right) has been charged with his murder.

An Editorial Opinion

A New York grand jury is hearing evidence this week in the case against Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.  Mangione, who was initiallly charged with murder on a district attorney's complaint, is expected to be indicted for Thompson's murder very soon.

Based upon evidence leaked to the media by law enforcement officials, prosecutors seem to believe they have an "open and shut" case against Mangione. In my view, this is a naive and erroneous belief.

Based upon my trial experience in high-profile criminal cases, Mangione’s case contains the three essential elements for an acquittal based upon “jury nullification.”  First, the public has exhibited profound sympathy and empathy for Mangione.  Second, the public hates health insurance companies and their "greedy" CEOs.  Third, a large segment of New York City's population despises Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

“Jury nullification” has been used in many high-profile cases, particularly in the South. Two of the best known cases of "jury nullification" arose from the 1955 murder of 14-year-old Emmitt Till and the 1963 murder of civil rights activist Medgar Evers, both of whom were innocent victims.

I have successfully used “jury nullification” in criminal cases that many legal pundits thought could not be won.  This is why I rarely listen to the commentary of criminal defense attorneys who have no track record of trying criminal cases to a jury verdict and winning them on a regular basis.  

Under “jury nullification,” trial jurors are permitted to use their common sense to: (a) determine the facts of the case, (b) apply the applicable law, as provided by the trial judge, to those facts, and (c) decide whether Luigi Mangione is the “victim” in a long running and pervasive UnitedHealthcare insurance scam that ripped-off either Mangione, a loved one, or another customer.

Most Americans Hate Healthcare Insurers 

In the public domain, UnitedHealthcare has one of the worst reputations in the healthcare insurance industry for raking in hundreds of billions of dollars in premium money, denying tens of billions of dollars in legitimate claims, and leaving tens of thousands of ailing customers to languish on the long and lonely road to a slow and painful death. 

UnitedHealthcare has gouged its customers and run over insurance regulators at-will, without facing any kind of adverse consequences. 

State and federal prosecutors are afraid to prosecute UnitedHealthcare for scamming customers.  

Judges go out of their way to rule in UnitedHealthcare’s favor in civil cases involving the denial of legitimate insurance claims.

The public’s hatred of UnitedHealthcare and other big healthcare insurance companies is second only to its hatred of the Internal Revenue Service. They are in the gutter with shady used car dealerships and seedy ministers.

District Attorney Alvin Bragg's Reputation is in the Toilet

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office will prosecute Mangione’s murder case.

Today, Bragg’s professional reputation is in the toilet because of his highly questionable prosecution of Donald Trump and the likelihood that Trump's criminal case will be dismissed. 

On Thursday, Trump and his wife Melania were treated like royalty at the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan. In contrast, New Yorkers are treating Alvin Bragg like he has the Bubonic plague.

Melania and Donald Trump at the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan on Thursday.

Earlier this week, Bragg suffered a stunning defeat in his high-profile subway chokehold case against former Marine Daniel Penny. Bragg lost this case because of juror bias against him. Bragg has an emerging reputation for prosecuting “Good Samaritans” rather than street criminals and Wall Street crooks.

To my knowledge, Alvin Bragg has NEVER prosecuted a top executive of a major healthcare insurance company for ripping-off its premium-paying customers.

If trial jurors believe that District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s conduct in Mangione’s murder case is tainted in any way, they will likely ignore all the prosecution’s witnesses, documents, photos, videotapes, and forensic evidence and render a verdict of acquittal for Mangione on all counts.

If I was not retired, my criminal defense team could win the murder case against Luigi Mangione ten times out of ten.  We would runover Alvin Bragg's team of prosecutors all day long.

Picking the Right Trial Jurors is the Key to "Jury Nullification"

There is a specific technique for identifying potential “jury nullification” candidates for Luigi Mangione’s trial jury.  For example, subservient people are not well-suited to render “jury nullification” verdicts.  They are often too docile to go against mean-looking prosecutors.

There is also a detailed profile of the best candidates in the jury pool for “jury nullification.” Extensive body language skills are needed in this juror identification process. During my legal career, I took body language courses for twelve years.  Body language is the most sincere form of non-verbal expression.

Additionally, there is a specific process for getting high-quality “jury nullification” candidates into the jury pool from which 12 trial jurors and 2-4 alternates will be chosen in Mangione’s murder case.

Finally, Luigi Mangione’s success in winning a “jury nullification” in the Brian Thompson murder case will depend largely upon: (a) the courage of Mangione's lawyers, (b) the manner, degree and level of their trial experience and preparation, and (c) the flawless execution of a “jury nullification” strategy.