Inside Luigi Mangione’s Life in Jail

Luigi Mangione, the 27-year-old man accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn as he awaits both a state and federal trial for the December 4, 2024, killing. The facility, which was once coined “hell on earth,” has also held Diddy, R. Kelly, Ghislaine Maxwell, “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli, Fetty Wap and Diddy, among others.

Mangione was moved to MDC on December 19, 2024, after his arrest in Pennsylvania. It’s unknown how long he will be there, because the date of his New York state trial was pushed back in Aprul from June to September 2026, and his federal trial was pushed back from September to October 2026. Judge Gregory Carro, the judge in the state case, said Mangione’s defense requested the delay. The federal trial is set for jury selection on October 5 with evidence beginning on October 26. 

"Whether we like it or not, we are somewhat at the mercy of events in the state case," U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett, who is overseeing the federal case, said. She added that what is happening with the state trial “inevitably affects how we structure things here so the defendant can get a fair trial.”

Mangione pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges after he was arrested for allegedly shooting Thompson in Manhattan. He faces life in prison if he's convicted in either case.

Garnett has thrown out the federal charges that carry the possibility of the death penalty, and Carro has tossed out an enhancement to the state murder charges that said Mangione's alleged conduct amounted to terrorism. 

MDC is the only federal corrections center serving New York City. The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) shuttered its own Manhattan facility in 2019.

MDC has faced several controversies in the last few years. In June 2024, the BOP said Uriel Whyte, who was awaiting trial for gun charges, was stabbed to death by another inmate. A month after Whyte’s death, Edwin Cordero died in a fight inside the jail. His lawyer told The New York Times that Cordero was “another victim of M.D.C. Brooklyn, an overcrowded, understaffed and neglected federal jail that is hell on earth.” Charges have been filed in both of their deaths, as well as charges against inmates accused of an attempted murder that occurred at MDC in April 2024 and two additional assaults that allegedly happened at the jail on August 24 and 27, 2024. 

The BOP settled a lawsuit in 2025 that compensated 1,600 prisoners who said they endured inhumane conditions in 2019 after a prolonged power outage left them in near-total darkness for a week, leading them to live in the frigid coldness. The lawsuit also alleged they were left in cells for days with non-fuctioning toilets. The settlement totaled $10 million.

Federal prison consultant Sam Mangel told People in June 2025 that Mangione works as an orderly at MDC and “appears to be well settled.” The role of an orderly includes cleaning showers and common areas.

“There's very few jobs somebody can get in a detention center because of the amount of restriction. Orderly tends to be one of the only ones” Mangel said, adding that inmates "can be very fastidious, and they like clean showers.”

A former inmate who said he shared a cell with Mangione posted a video on X in which he claimed that Mangione is a “one-man welcoming committee.”

“I look out the cell, Luigi is standing there and he’s like, ‘Hey, how’s it going?’” Michael Daddea said in the video. “Like, super nice. Introduced himself to me first thing.”

Little else is known about how Mangione spends his days in the facility, but his case has gripped the country, fueling internet meme culture and leading Etsy creators to make products referring to him as the “patron saint of health care.” Supporters can buy crewnecks that say “deny, defend, depose,” a reference to the words police have said were written on the bullet casings allegedly used by him.

Because of the ongoing attention, Mangione has spoken to his supporters through a website built and maintained by his legal team, who referred to their client as a “model prisoner.”

"I am overwhelmed by—and grateful for—everyone who has written me to share their stories and express their support,” Mangione said in a statement. “Powerfully, this support has transcended political, racial and even class divisions, as mail has flooded MDC from across the country, and around the globe. While it is impossible for me to reply to most letters, please know that I read every one that I receive. Thank you again to everyone who took the time to write. I look forward to hearing more in the future."

His legal team has asked that anyone who wants to write to their client follow the instructions listed on MDC’s website, but they asked that they refrain from sending books, as Mangione has already been gifted plenty.