Luigi Mandzione said innocent of the murder of the United Managing Director of UnitedheealthCare, while prosecutors officially confirmed that they intended to seek the imposition of the death penalty.

The 26 -year -old defendant appeared before a federal court in Manhattan for official charges of the assassination of Brian Thompson, which took place last December in New York.

Mandzione has also declared innocent in a separate indictment facing the state of New York on the assassination of Brian Thompson, head of the Unitedhehealth insurance sector.

While public officials have condemned the murder, some Americans and people of other countries expressed their support for Madzione, arguing that it has raised the issue of the excessive cost of healthcare in the US and the power of insurance companies.

In justifying their decision to seek the imposition of the death penalty, prosecutors told the document that Madzione “is a future danger, as he expressed the intention of targeting the whole industry and motivating a political and social reaction, causing acts of deadly violence”.

US Minister of Justice Pam Bodi had announced earlier this month that the Ministry of Justice would seek the death penalty for Mandzion.