Luigi Mangione: Cold-Blooded Murderer or Heroic Vigilante?
Monday morning, Luigi Mangione appeared in an NYC court for procedural hearings regarding his alleged December murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The 26 year-old currently faces 11 counts of criminal offenses, including both first and second-degree murder, in addition to weapon, forgery, and terrorist charges.
The Maryland native has generated national, and global attention, with his alleged assassination of spurring conversation around the injustice within the American healthcare system. Many have surprisingly voiced their support around the alleged killer, viewing the crime as an act of vigilantism against the corrupt corporate greed of health insurance companies.
Mangione has also garnered support from younger generations, as his handsome features and charismatic character have captivated young adults. Mangione’s clean-cut look has also fueled various social media trends, and public demonstrations in support of the University of Pennsylvania alum, as seen in the large crowds of supporters outside of the NYC court on February 24.
However, many have condemned Mangione’s actions as an irrational obsession with corporate corruption, noting his family’s comments towards the likelihood of his role in the murder, and his alleged behavior change months before the fatal shooting.
Despite these criticisms of Mangione’s supposedly-premeditated attack, public unrest concerning the American healthcare system has been brought to light amidst the UnitedHealthcare CEO’s death. Many have emphasized their lack of sympathy for the late executive, as personal stories and failures of the system have outweighed their condolences towards the millionaire’s death.
The novel at the center of this case, “Hit Reverse: New Ideas From Old Books,” emphasizes the corporate exploitation of the American public, noting the high costs and poor patient care that has resulted in lack of life-saving treatments, and avoidable deaths from this corrupt system. Mangione allegedly left paper money from the board game Monopoly to represent the overreaching influence of UnitedHealthcare, and enormous profit made from patient insurance.
Thus, many have sympathized with Mangione’s alleged motive of murdering Thompson to gain revenge on those who have been scorned by the crooked healthcare system, which has helped the 26 year-old gain support from the public.
As Mangione and his legal team brace for his upcoming trial, the American public is wrestling with not only determining the morality behind the brutal murder, but also coming to terms with the fractured American healthcare system.