Luigi Mangione [Source: Reuters]

Luigi Mangione, the man accused of assassinating a health insurance executive ​in a carefully executed plot, could have a hard time convincing jurors at his murder trial that he suffered a ‌mental health breakdown, legal experts said.

Mangione is accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a hotel in Midtown in December 2024.

Defense lawyers indicated on Wednesday that Mangione plans to mount a type of legal defense that allows jurors to downgrade murder charges to manslaughter if they believe a defendant lost control of their actions due to an “extreme emotional ​disturbance.”

But allegations that Mangione meticulously planned the assassination and concealed his identity as he led law enforcement on a five-day manhunt could ​cut against an argument that he lost control of his actions, according to former Manhattan state prosecutor Gary Galperin.

“This is ⁠a strategic choice on his part to limit his exposure on conviction, and while legally viable, I think factually he has a high hurdle ​to convince a jury,” said Galperin, now a professor at Cardozo School of Law.

Mangione’s legal team and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office declined to ​comment.

Mangione, who has pleaded not guilty to state murder, weapons, and forgery charges, is expected to go to trial in September.

The brazen killing was widely condemned by public officials but became emblematic of Americans’ frustration with rising healthcare costs and insurance industry practices.

An extreme emotional disturbance defense under New York law is different from an insanity defense, which requires ​a psychiatric diagnosis and proof that a defendant did not know what they did was wrong.

The emotional disturbance defense does not require a defendant ​to admit to the crime.

The defense has been successful in New York in cases where defendants acted with overwhelming emotions, such as anger and passion, or reacted to ‌extreme trauma. ⁠

The defense has been rejected in cases in which there is evidence that a defendant engaged in planning and maintained a calm, careful demeanor, according to legal experts.

Carro will decide before instructing the jury whether Mangione provided enough evidence for them to consider downgrading to manslaughter, which could spare Mangione a possible life sentence if he is convicted.

Mangione suffered from chronic back pain, according to friends and social media posts, and prosecutors say they found a ​notebook where he criticized the health insurance ​industry and wrote about “wack(ing)” an ⁠executive.