Luigi Mangione requests a laptop in prison for legal purposes, not to communicate with others, as he awaits trial on charges of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO.
In a court filing Monday, Mangione's lawyers proposed setting up the laptop solely for analyzing the vast amount of documents, videos and other material related to the Brian Thompson murder case.
Similar restrictions on laptop use have been imposed on several other defendants at the federal facility where Mangione is being held.
The Manhattan district attorney's office, which is prosecuting Mangione on a rare charge of murder as part of a terrorist act in New York state, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mangione's lawyers say prosecutors are balking at the laptop request, arguing that some witnesses have been threatened.
Defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo noted that “there is no connection between Mr. Mangione and any of the threats made.”
Mangione, 26, is accused of shooting Thompson in December outside a Manhattan hotel where UnitedHealthcare was planning to hold an investor conference.
Mr. Thompson was 50 and the father of two school-aged children. He had worked for UnitedHealthcare and its parent company for decades.
Mangione, an Ivy League computer science graduate and member of a Maryland real estate family, has pleaded not guilty to charges brought by New York state authorities.
He also faces a parallel federal case that could carry the death penalty. He has not entered a plea to the federal charges or to state gun and other charges in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested days after Mr. Thompson's death.
Mr Thompson's killing has sparked concern in the corporate world, where some health insurers have quickly shifted to remote work or held shareholder meetings online.
The case also became symbolic of some Americans' frustration with health insurance companies.
Authorities say Mangione's messages and inscriptions on bullets found at the crime scene express aggression toward health insurers and corporate America.
Some people began to praise the accused murderer, donate money to his defense, and even attend his court hearings.
Others, including elected officials, have expressed regret at the praise for what they call ideological violence and vigilante justice.
Through his lawyers, Mangione released a statement thanking his supporters.
In a motion filed Monday, his lawyers said if he is given a laptop, he will not be able to connect to the Internet, play video games, watch movies or engage in other entertainment.
But it will allow him, without leaving his prison cell, to review more than 15,000 pages of documents and thousands of hours of video footage collected by prosecutors and to be turned over to his defense team.
Otherwise, he would be able to review the materials during meetings with his lawyers. However, they argue that there is not enough time during the day for visits to do this and properly prepare his defense.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
