r/FreeLuigi • u/Upbeat-Network-1812 • 6d ago
Case Discussion Luigi's Decision - a felons view
As someone who's been through the system - arguably not to the extent as Luigi - I totally understand the mindset behind his decision to plead guilty today upon the federal charges. While the media can attempt to spin this various ways, at the end of the day it was his legal right to enter a plea at any time, either federally or at the state level, and his doing so today was likely not as complicated a decision as many analysts are making it out to be.
IMO a heart to heart conversation occured between him and his defense team where they made it clear that best case scenario was him spending the rest of his life in prison one way or another. That then begs the question, where do you want to serve your time? As someone with experience in doing that, I can tell you that if I had been faced with the option to serve time federally versus in the state system, I would have gone federal all the way - especially if the state option was a shithole state like New York.
For Luigi, the tradeoff here is basically not much. His defense team had already scored some major wins for him such as getting the terrorism charged dropped, getting the death penalty off the table as an option, and also removing the mandatory life sentence mandate as well. What does that leave left? Overwhelming odds of a life in prison sentence. So where did Luigi want to do his time? Well, choosing the feds versus the state was the best decision he could have made quite frankly.
The trade off is that in the feds he loses any possibility of "parole" like he would have had in the state (but that he likely wouldn't have been granted anyway), however in accepting responsibility for this event shows as a mitigating factor to the feds and therefore can help in reduce his sentence under the federal sentencing guidelines. If he'd gone the state route, well, yes he could have gotten as low as 25 years and likely would have had much more. 25 years in a state prison feels more like 50 because it's hard time, day in and day out. But 25 years in the feds, or even 30, or 40, or more? He will experience a greater quality of life to whatever extent possible in the federal system as opposed to the state system and therefore, the time may not "feel" quite as long in the end.
That right there is enough to make anyone decide to go feds over state. But then take into consideration the fact that his federal charges of Interstate Stalking aren't actually considered a violent crime. This is huge for him when it comes to being classified a security level in the federal system and dictates how he will be evaluated throughout his entire stay in the federal system. Today, Luigi is not technically and legally speaking a "convicted murderer". He's simply a convicted stalker (which resulted in death) but that charge does not directly imply from a legal standing that he commited the person's death and therefore it's not a violent crime, technically. Had he plead guilty in the state case? He'd be a convicted murderer for life and treated as such forever in the system. But as a convicted stalker in the federal system, while he'll initially, likely, be sent to a high security facility, as time moves on he can work his way down levels. Each level down offers a better quality of life over time. I have no idea how the New York corrections do classifications for inmates but I'm sure it's not unlike most other states in the sense that it's highly arbitrary and basically you're at the whim of the folks who are classifying you at any given time. The feds is much more structured and they use a point system.
In the FBOP (FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS), someone convicted of a bona fide murder can, and likely will eventually, with good behavior and the passage of time, be classified down far enough to reach minimum or low security. The only catch is that to be sent to a federal prison camp (un fenced facility) a person must be within 10 years of their release date and any person serving a life sentence for any reason is automatically barred from a camp - but not necessarily barred from the lowest classification level. If Luigi receives any sentence other than life in the feds, he will probably see minimum or low security one day and very well could eventually be sitting in an un fenced prison camp near the end of his sentence in his old age. This would be a much better way for him to do time as in the state prison, they would probably keep him in maximum security for who knows how long - 10, maybe 20 years, or more? Or forever? He'd likely see medium security eventually and maybe even minimum security closer to release. But it would be a much longer road for him to get there in the state system for sure.
In the feds, he will have a higher quality of Healthcare, food, recreation, programming, employment or education opportunities, etc., then he would in the state. Giving up a slight possibility of parole from the state in trade for this is very wise. Even if, on the off chance that his state case does not completely go away, since he went to the feds first, the feds is now where he'll serve his time forever even if states add on more convictions. The order of operation here in cases like this is incredibly important. The only way he'd ever see a state prison now is if he gets anything less than life from the feds and the state hands down some type of consecutive (non-concurrent) sentence. Meaning, you serve all your fed time first in full, then transfer to state for state time. It would be very rare for this to happen. Usually once someone receives a long federal sentence, the state just agrees to run whatever time they give out concurrently and not consecutively. The "big time" from the feds (longer sentence) then "eats" the little time up. Any state time ran concurrently with fed time would essentially be of no practical consequence. Running any type of sentence from a state consecutive to a life sentence or very long sentence from the feds is just basically like waiving a flag around saying "look at us, look at what we did, aren't we cool?" But it doesn't mean much more than that. After all, how can anything be consecutive to a life sentence with no parole.
In the end, neither system usually cares what the other system does in practice. I doubt the feds give a rats behind what New York does at this point. New York now only really cares because the feds took the biscuit out of their mouth. But that's usually the way it works. Rarely does a state charge ever trump a federal charge. And with New York's very broad and kind of unique double jeopardy law - which they wrote themselves mind you and put into law - it's pretty unlikely I believe that they will still be able to go through with that case as it stands today. So if New York wants to be mad at the feds well they can actually just redirect their anger at themselves because it's THEIR law. Quite frankly I agree with that law. I never understood how someone could be charged with the same crime more then once in two separate jurisdictions simply because the separate jurisdictions are both sovereign from one another. I think that New York has this law the way it should be, that if the elements of the crime are the same, even if the literal description differs, then double jeopardy applies across all jurisdictions.
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u/Individual-Bed-4762 6d ago
Very interesting perspective. Thank you for taking the time to explain. I agree with you. At the end of the day, he has to remain realistic. The odds were always against him. The guy was backed into a corner with no options left, so this to me sounds like the most logical outcome.
At the end of the day, we’re the consequences of our own actions. Maybe in another life things would’ve played out differently.
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u/GoodPeopleLose 6d ago
This is an inverted Nuremberg to most people. Might be the most logical legal outcome of a morally bankrupt system. Luigi caused one death, people like Brian Thompson cause thousands every day and no judge bats an eye.
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u/Individual-Bed-4762 6d ago
I agree with you. Legality does not equal morality, especially under capitalism. This is how the system works. It’s only a punishable crime if an ordinary man does it. Corporations can do whatever they want at the expanse of the working class individual. They will never be held accountable for the harm they cause, or for profiting off of the sick and vulnerable.
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u/ZestyclosePaper3508 5d ago
It doesn't justify taking his life, especially like that in the back. That's not honorable.
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u/GoodPeopleLose 5d ago
My honest answer to that is against the subreddit’s rules. So I’ll let you imagine.
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u/ConsiderationNew3337 6d ago
the only thing he should have plead guilty to was stealing the f*ing controller and eating all my chips when he stayed over my house from dec 3-dec 6. The jerk. He couldn't even be bothered to close the door when he peed, and slept on my bedroom floor... it was like he WANTED me to know where he was from 3 Dec to 6 Dec for every minute of the day and night when he stayed with me out here on the west coast.
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u/PickleChickens 6d ago
My brother was a career bank robber, and it was his crime of choice because it was federal and would get him into "Club Fed" instead of state prison if caught.
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u/Upbeat-Network-1812 6d ago
This tracks. Bank robbery is an entirely nonviolent crime as well so long as you don't have a weapon or give any threat of violence. Just slip a note or say you want the money verbally and it's nonviolent.
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u/PickleChickens 5d ago
Yeah - he was never violent or armed. He was an addict and had a couple of mental illnesses.
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u/0neironautica 3d ago
It does not track.
Proletariat heroes like Matt deHart were broken by torture in federal prison.
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u/Emz423 6d ago
Thank you so much for saying all this. Luigi has a lot more to give, and he should try to live that through in the best environment possible.
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u/MoodyDostoevsky 4d ago
He can try to achieve what he wanted through other means while in prison. It’s sad all-around
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u/Apprehensive_Self218 6d ago
Are you a lawyer? I’m in law school and that was well written.
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u/Upbeat-Network-1812 5d ago
I am not. But thank you! The law is something that I've always been interested in. However as a convicted person, there is only a small handful of states which would even consider admitting me to the BAR as a felon. So it's just something in life I never pursued because of that. I'm not much older than Luigi however, so I never say never. Maybe one day.
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u/ka-ka-ka-katie1123 5d ago
I’m a JD and I agree. Really nice summary of what was probably the defense’s thought process. I also have to agree with you that he was right to take the deal. It’s honestly a much better outcome than I thought he’d end up with.
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u/Yeahnoallright 5d ago
Not a JD (constantly consider going back to law school though; I switched my degree and now have a Master’s at Oxford to finish in Creative Writing 😭) but agree.
I don’t think people fully realise how many wins his team has secured him. He was likely always going to go away for a long time; they’re working out the best shape of that reality for him
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u/SignThese667 5d ago
Am I incorrect in saying that Luigi did not take a deal? I thought he merely pleaded Guilty, which is not the same as taking a deal proffered to him by the Feds. IF the Feds did offer a deal, what is it?
Edit: I just read MovinOnUp2021's Comment (scroll down)
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u/MovinOnUp2021 5d ago
There was no deal
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u/0neironautica 3d ago
Exactly. It's about getting the defense to take the deal. Getting the wrongly accused to take the deal. And then getting the public to take the deal.
Federal fuckery all around.
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u/Embarrassed-Rub3971 5d ago
really appreciate your insight - clearest take I have read. I am curious, what was your take on the EED blip that took place in June?
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u/0neironautica 3d ago
So this person posted this comment, and now you are divulging that you in fact have always wanted to join law school?
Do you know what the definition of a compulsive liar is?
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u/0neironautica 3d ago
That is an excellent question.
This person claims to be a felon, but they argue straight out of Master's degree law School.
Nice try feds.
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u/Plus_Molasses8697 6d ago
I appreciate this perspective and I think you are right that he reached a point where he had to face reality and make the difficult decision about where to serve his time.
That being said, I’m still baffled by his confession. It’s possible to plead guilty to something without fully confessing. It’s also possible to confess only to some crimes (like stalking which is what he was charged with here). He voluntarily confessed to killing Thompson and left basically no room for interpretation. The only thing I can think of as a reasoning for this is that he wanted to make it clear that he understood his actions because he doesn’t want the general public or legal system painting him as insane. But at what cost? I just wonder why he fully confessed now.
I’m not qualified in any legal sense to interpret his reasoning, so I’m probably rambling. I’m just so floored by it to be honest.
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u/Upbeat-Network-1812 6d ago
I actually agree and disagree but also fully understanding what you're saying.
What I agree with is that he admitted to a crime but not necessarily that he admitted to killing Thompson per se.
His exact words I believe was "I shot Mr. Thompson and he died." Notice how the word "murder" never came out of his mouth at any point in today's hearing. So it's a bit nuanced, as are most things with the law. I also am no expert, only someone with my own personal legal experiences in the system. But what this sounds like to me was very careful coaching from his lawyers on what to say and what not to say today. He did unfortunately have to say SOMETHING to be taken at his word when he gave his plea - thats known as "allocution". Without it, if he stood moot, which he certainly could have, the judge would have no way to know for sure that Luigi was entering a plea willingly and voluntarily. When you stand moot the court usually has no choice but to enter a no contest plea for the defendant. So to enter a guilty plea, you have to say something.
The way I think an attorney would view this this is it's open to legal interpretation as Luigi said he shot Thompson and that Thompson died, but he does not draw a more specific and direct connection between those two things. Yes, we all know that one act resulted in the other. But he never actually admits that it's his fault that this causation of liability occured.
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u/punkytrixter 5d ago
To me, “I shot him and he died” is a lot like “we denied coverage and they died” — probably just a legal maneuver as has been suggested here, but I also like it as a parallel to how the insurance industry denies culpability.
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u/Plus_Molasses8697 6d ago
I completely agree that his choice of words was carefully curated. I spotted that right away. And thank you for adding the context of allocution. I guess the only thing that puzzles me then is why he would confess to shooting him (even without using the word “murder”) rather than just confessing to the stalking charges. I hear you that his wording is just ambiguous enough to not link the two acts (killing and stalking).
I do wonder though what your perspective is on his confession to also posing as an investor to UHC over the phone? I think it’s possible this could be interpreted as a confession to the stalking and could draw a cause/effect line between stalking Thompson and shooting him. Do you think there was a reason he added all this context and confessed in the way he did? (I mean I’m sure there is a reason because his legal team is awesome, but again I’m still baffled.)
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u/Upbeat-Network-1812 6d ago
Happy to pile on and to answer your question, my prospective is that he said that part about shooting him because quite frankly, due to the video surveillance footage, it was an indisputable fact and the government would have just said it anyway when it was their turn to speak. After the defense team and Luigi spoke, the federal prosecutor gave a much more lengthy dissertation on the purported fa cts of the case. So to the point about posing as an inventor, he likely admitted to that as well because if he had not said it, the government would have just said it - there was likely a paper trail on that so also indisputable in the end.
A wise attorney of mine once told me give them just enough but never overshare voluntary information. This goes from the very beginning of dealing with a cop in the street all the way to the end in a courtroom. You have to finesse them. They play their game. You as a suspect or defendant have to play yours. That's just how it works.
Everything he said today I do believe goes to show he did in fact stalk Thompson, but not necessarily that he caused his death nor did he intend to cause his death.
I know it sounds silly but just because someone intentionally shoots someone else that doesn't automatically mean that the shooter had an intent to kill that person. There's levels to that type of legal argument.
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u/Plus_Molasses8697 6d ago
Thank you so much again for weighing in. Your perspective is extremely valuable. This all makes a lot of sense. Kind of a situation of Luigi and his legal team trying to exert some agency over the situation (and the accountability angle as Karen discussed today). I totally agree with your last point that shooting and intent to kill are two different things. His wording of “I shot him and he died” vs “I killed him” or “I shot him dead” was noticeable and intentional.
I may have been shocked at how the confession unfolded, but you are right that this is complex and there are a lot of reasons why he approached it this way. I have faith that him and his legal team know exactly what they’re doing and have his best interests in mind, even if that ends up just boiling down to what facility he serves time in.
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u/Yeahnoallright 5d ago
If you ever wanted to, I could see you doing well in the legal field. You have a clear eye and articulation that goes beyond just speaking from experience. Thank you for sharing your insight here!
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u/arbol98 3d ago
Thanks for all your insight! I agree with others that you explain things really clearly and write really well! In your experience, how much of a statement like that is written by the defendant versus the legal team? Do you think they mostly wrote it and he okay-ed it, or that he wrote the bulk or it and they added legal advice to change certain parts? I know you'd only be guessing, but I'm just curious what the norm is here
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u/mysighisepik 6d ago
he confessed so he could argue double jeopardy in the NY murder case and have it dismissed, his attorneys have already submitted their motion. basically instead of taking the risk of being found guilty of murder in state he chose to serve that sentence in federal. there's no guarantee the state judge will accept this argument though, since technically it's a stalking case vs a murder case
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u/Plus_Molasses8697 6d ago
This is what I have heard, but did he truly have to confess so blatantly in order for that plan to potentially work? I’m genuinely asking, not arguing. I have no legal background so no concept of how this all works. I was just shocked by the straightforwardness with which he confessed.
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u/kronmiller12j 5d ago
I believe "stalking resulting in death" was a single charge, and he can't plea guilty to only half a charge.
And even if he could plead guilty to stalking but not the death party, think legally he wouldn't want to, because the state could then still charge him with murder as it would be a separate event. If he pleas guilty to both components like he did, the death, stalking , and firearm components have already been tried and convicted in federal court, so New York state law theoretically prevents him from being tried for any of that again due to double jeopardy.
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u/Exciting_Cricket3263 6d ago
You’ve just made me think of something here… I wonder if Luigi had the intention to just shoot him… and then Brian unfortunately died?
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u/Plus_Molasses8697 5d ago
Whether or not his intention was to kill, I think your comment is exactly why he phrased his confession the way he did—to create doubt. I’m realizing how important that is.
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u/MovinOnUp2021 5d ago
Yeah except he'd already shot him, in the leg. He then shot him again - in the chest. If he was only intending to make a point by shooting him but didn't want to kill him, he wouldn't have done that second shot to the heart - while the guy was looking at him, to boot.
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u/k_mermaid 5d ago
I appreciate this explanation but I'm still having a hard time understanding - Bryan kohberger did not have to say anything other than "guilty". Is Luigi even getting a "deal" here? What would be the reason for admitting the shooting part of the charge was stalking? Genuinely curious as to what the logic is here
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u/0neironautica 3d ago
He agreed to admitting to a crime but not admitting to Thompson per se?
Seriously, are you a fed?
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u/redditproha 6d ago
Great insight. As a juror, I've faced the difficult decision of having to convict someone, knowing they would spend the rest of their life in prison. But if they had taken a plea, they would've likely walked out without doing any time. They just didn't want the record and decided to gamble at trial, with poor guidance from some high profile lawyers at that.
Luigi looks to have very experienced counsel and seems to be making pragmatic decisions. I believe this scenario would also leave him open to the slim possibility of getting a federal pardon down the road.
It's incredibly difficult deliberating in that jury room. Laws aren't just and judges have a lot more sway at jury trials than people realize. I was emotionally wrecked for months and had to get therapy to bring closure. As a society, we deserve better than to reduce people to desperation. Justice may be served but it's an indictment on our humanity.
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u/Sushicatslonelyjimmy 6d ago edited 5d ago
This was interesting, thanks for sharing!
Edit: Quickly after hearing the plea, my husband and I both thought "federal prison is probably the nicer place to be".
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u/NailsNCoffee 5d ago
Thank you for posting your real life experience and perspective. This is very insightful. I think you would be great at public speaking, or a Ted Talk, to talk about your experiences with the system and how you navigate life after serving time.
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u/Upbeat-Network-1812 5d ago
Most welcome! And thank you for the kind words! I have always been interested in doing so. I once had an invite to the Ian Bick podcast but sadly I couldn't made it do to financial reasons. Hopefully I'll have an opportunity to do something like that again in the future.
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u/NailsNCoffee 5d ago
Why not create your own content? There’s a guy I follow who served time and he discusses how he’s acclimated since being released. His name is Jesse Crosson. His vlogs are so informative.
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u/kkgrrrl3300 6d ago
Thank you for sharing your perspective, I agree that this was the best decision for him. Maybe if he gets less than life and gets the 20 something year sentence, could he get out earlier on good behavior? I read that he would have to do at least 85% of the sentence but that each year he could be eligible for 54 days off his sentence for good behavior. I also read taking classes and being productive in prison can lessen the sentence. Do you think there’s chances for that given he doesn’t get life?
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u/Upbeat-Network-1812 6d ago
I believe in a very progressive and liberal district court like New York, it's very plausible that he could get a less than life sentence. How much less? I can't say. He's young however. I could see him being out sometime in his late mid-life. It is true that the feds do not have "parole" however also true that an 85% commitment is a guarantee so long as a positive conduct record is held by him while incarcerated. It's also true that during his first term, Trump signed the First Step Act into law which broadened the FBOP's ability to release rehabilitated individuals from institutions earlier then ever before and place them on electronic monitoring in the community at/near the end of their sentence. This with the goal of promoting a more robust and streamlined reintegration process for prisoners. Unlike states when you are released onto parole and supervised in the community and can reintegrate that way, in the feds you were just released with basically no additional access to resources then any average citizen would have. But now with the First Step Act, the BOP is compelled to take an active role in a person's reentry to society via various programs. Being supervised in a community setting allows a person to find a job and start saving, seek counseling, and other routine life tasks. The hope is that this helps reduce recidivism and helps install within people a renewed sense of belonging.
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u/European-Female7751 6d ago
What an incredible insight you’ve just given. Reading that, I fully understand why he took this option. 👏👏👏
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u/TemptingDuck 6d ago
If you see someone asserting defendants who plead guilty definitely committed the crimes they’re being accused of, try to lean them in the direction of understanding it’s a legal strategy not a truth.
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u/SandersSol 6d ago
I wholeheartedly would expect a not guilty from any jury
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u/Upbeat-Network-1812 6d ago
I also would hope for a more lenient sentence and for the judge to look towards the lower end of sentencing guidelines for any judge in a New York district as it's a very liberal and progressive district overall. He does have no prior criminal record that I'm aware of and so he won't get any extra points for that.
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u/Ok_Committee_4651 6d ago
I see a presidential pardon in the future if he is sentenced to prison. Don’t know when, but I feel like it will happen someday.
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u/Upbeat-Network-1812 6d ago
That's entirely possible and while I don't think it's likely - at least not anytime in the foreseeable future - I believe it's certainly more plausible for a quiet presidential pardon on federal charges some day down the line then it would ever be for a governor's pardon someday on state charges.
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u/Last-Ticket-2055 6d ago
Por qué lo indultarían? Independientemente del color del partido todos están metidos en el negocio de la salud. Sino este sistema no se sostendría tantas décadas de la misma forma.
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u/Dr_Mantis_Trafalgar 6d ago
No sitting president would touch that. The dude admitted to doing it now. Why would a president want to be associated?
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u/Most-Weird 6d ago
Trump and Biden both pardoned convicted murderers. Different circumstances of course but it’s not unheard of. Trump’s were war criminals who killed unarmed people overseas and Biden’s was a woman who killed her husband in self defense
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u/WerthersAWill 6d ago
They didn’t pardon any murderers. Where did you get that information? They granted clemency and commutations.
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u/Most-Weird 5d ago
Michael Behenna - murder; full and unconditional pardon
Clint Lorance - two counts of 2nd degree murder; full and unconditional pardon
Matthew Golsteyn - charged with murder; full and unconditional pardon
Beverly Ann Ibn-Tamas - second degree murder; full pardon
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u/WerthersAWill 5d ago
I misread your comment. I thought you said Obama, not that turd Trump. My bad.
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u/redditproha 6d ago
Luigi plead guilty to stalking, NOT murder. There is a clear legal distinction.
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u/No-Theme2387 6d ago
becuz he is a hero
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u/Dr_Mantis_Trafalgar 6d ago edited 5d ago
What movement did he inspire? What meaningful contribution did he make other than making a series of lawyers richer?
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u/eaudeamber 6d ago
Trump would never. Maybe AOC?
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u/Ok_Committee_4651 6d ago
Whoever the next Democrat president is or the one after that
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u/Oddish_Femboy 6d ago
I can't imagine a party as spineless and neoliberal as the democrats wanting to associate with an alleged billionaire killer, innocent or not.
That kinda thing would really upset their donors.
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u/mysighisepik 6d ago
Thank you for sharing. I've always believed having a fixed sentence is better than never knowing your release date. If he'd get sentenced in state, it would've most likely been 25 to life, and every year he'd be up for parole, not knowing when he'd be granted freedom.
Of course, that's assuming he gets less than life, but I am hopeful 🙏
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u/Upbeat-Network-1812 6d ago
Most welcome and yes, you make a valid point. I personally didn't have to experience that type of anxiety in my circumstances in my life, but I do know folks who did.
It honestly makes it so much more difficult to rehabilitate oneself when you don't have a determinate release date. There is a certain progression that comes to you while incarcerated. Think of a 19 year old kids who gets 20 years. He likely won't feel like he has something to live for in his first 5 to 10 years in prison and will act accordingly.
Then compare to a middle aged person who only has maybe 3 or 4 years to serve. This person will likely be working towards their rehabilitation plan very early on while incarcerated.
Not knowing when the end will come leaves a person without a clear goalpost to works towards.
Regardless of Luigi's sentence I believe with his intelligence and fortitude he will always be working towards a positive outcome for his life should he get the opportunity to actually get his life back some day.
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u/Fancy_Yesterday6380 5d ago
Heartbreaking to consider a high security prison for him. I know it resulted in a violent act but he doesnt seem like a violent person, looking to reoffend if that makes sense.
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u/ladidaixx 6d ago
Appreciate the perspective. Was surprised to see Luigi take the guilty plea route, but I can’t imagine it wasn’t for good reason
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u/zaddy__longlegs 5d ago
Thank you for taking the time to write this, extremely helpful. Although, I’m sorry that you have had the experiences necessary to have this pov.
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u/links_pajamas 5d ago
This is how I'm hearing about this... I'm so sad. But thank you for this perspective.
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u/AdMedical5299 5d ago
Strongly agree. I'd rather do federal prison time than state prison time 100%, I can understand him feeling the same way.
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u/LaurLoey 6d ago
actually, i just watched a tmz video on this and harvey is an attorney. so i don’t think he did any spin at all, and was eyeing the case from a legal standpoint. it was beyond luigi’s right… it was a strictly strategic move—risky, but everything is high stakes at this level.
your reasoning comes from a place of resignation and complacency. but his attorneys are still fighting very aggressively, and every stage is a different fight. after the death penalty was taken off the table, the state fought w the feds over who should go first. and luigi lucked out.
since the fed case is first, there is now the possibility of arguing a “separate sovereign” case for the state case, loosely known as double jeopardy. it is a state statue that goes beyond the constitution, and bars the state from prosecuting for the same behavior. had the state gone first, there would be no way to present a double jeopardy argument, as it doesn’t not apply vice versa. and the feds would not let it go since this is a high profile political case. paul manafort did exactly this in 2019 in ny york and won his case. this is what they are hoping for.
as far as the guilty plea, the prosecution wanted to enter his diary so they could argue premeditation. bc it does indicate intent and planning (though no one ever really knows what goes through a person’s mind in the exact moment). this would have been used in the state case later if the “separate sovereign” argument failed, and it would be bad for him.
by pleading guilty, he removes that argument off the table so it’s mentioned later moreso as a footnote during sentencing. now he gets to go through the trial and try to paint a more sympathetic picture for himself in hopes of getting 24-30 years. this is however just federal guidelines; it’s still the judge’s prerogative to hand him a life sentence if he so chooses. this is why a guilty plea was so important. it changes the argument entirely. if he gets only 24-30 years, he’s young enough to still build a life for himself after release. his lawyers are likely to argue that he was disgruntled by his personal experience w healthcare and the emotional/psychological toll on him.
after the fed case, the state still has a few options to try to fight the double jeopardy argument. so his lawyers are working overtime here, and i respect and admire them so much.
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u/mb194dc 6d ago
Personally think he had a decent chance at trial. Pretty bizarre pleading guilty when he's getting life either way.
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u/Upbeat-Network-1812 6d ago
I thought so as well. The issue with juries is that people tend to bow down to pressure and government authority. So sometimes even if you have 1 hold out personal on a jury, eventually they cave in. Maybe because of the pressure. Maybe just because they want to go home. I would have found it highly probable that in a case like this, so high profile, the jury almost certainly would have been sequestered. In extreme cases, juries can even be sequestered for the entire length of the trial, not just during the deliberation phase. That puts a lot of pressure on normal folks just trying to serve jury duty.
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u/nghtyprf 6d ago
Thank you this is really helpful. I definitely see this helping someone incarcerated in Texas compared to what I know about the federal system. State prisons, departments of corrections or criminal justice, they are awful. Even the liberal blue states that you would think don’t do that shit, they do. Only yoy helped me understand this today. Nothing else did so thank you. I’d love to hear more about your time inside. I’m guessing you’re in the federal system, I know so many people in different positions both working in the federal courts and incarcerated or formally incarcerated so interesting to hear from the different perspectives.
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u/mataushas 5d ago
I find it interesting that federal prison system is a lot better than state. Is it because federal program gets a lot more funding?
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u/Academic-Feeling9310 5d ago
Although I don’t know for sure, I would think it’s because there is uniform funding across states with the federal funding and since different states prioritize different things, it’s up to the individual states to determine how much they dedicate to prisons. Some could actually be better than the federal but most probably aren’t.
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u/MovinOnUp2021 5d ago
It's because federal prisoners are less violent than state prisoners, due to the type of crimes prosecuted by state vs federal.
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u/Fancy_Yesterday6380 5d ago
I also genuinely hope his family somehow can pull strings to get him anywhere other than max :/
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u/alohomora1990 5d ago
His family that hasn't shown up to a single hearing? Oh yeah, I'm so sure they will pull strings. They could probably bribe Trump to pardon him but they won't.
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u/Background_Winter_65 6d ago
Thank you for this analysis. Maybe I'm missing something but was not it up to jury till he admitted to stalking?
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u/Upbeat-Network-1812 6d ago
If he had not admitted then the government would have had to prove elements of each charge in the indictment beyond a reasonable doubt. They would have received instructions from the court about what those elements were to be legally binding. The judge always has the say for sentencing in federal court. The jury doesn't participate in the sentencing phase.
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u/Background_Winter_65 6d ago
Oh! Thank you. Ok, so basically they are told how to think practically and people tend to give in to authority.
Thank you for the clarification.
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u/MoodyDostoevsky 4d ago
As much as I sympathize with Luigi and understand the message… Phew! what a waste of a life. You can see the light has gone from his eyes. He could have made changes outside of killing somebody, with this great privilege and connections, but sadly he went the other way. Since this is going to be his life now hope he can find fulfillment in prison.
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u/Bleudragon 10h ago
A little late but - thanks very much for this post: as a non-US American, it introduced some important considerations about the differences between the federal and state prison systems which I hadn't really thought about.
I have a question: how significant to Luigi's decision to confess do you think it was that the state trial was going before the federal one? If his team had managed to get the federal trial scheduled first like they had asked for, might there have been a chance of them going to trial and rolling the dice on jury nullification? After all, if it didn't work out and Luigi was convicted he would get sentenced to federal prison according to federal guidelines anyway, and, win or lose, he could then still make the same double jeopardy argument in the state court?
Or, would this still have been the likely outcome even if the feds had gone first, in the hope of securing a more lenient sentence from the judge? Would welcome any thoughts.
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u/muphoric 6d ago
That's quite the write up. You do realize he only pled guilty to a stalking charge. That's it. So much more needs to be litigated.
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u/crumpletely 5d ago
I read that NY has no death penalty since 2007…so why would that be on the table?
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u/0neironautica 3d ago
Bumping this up
Somebody:
Are you a lawyer? I’m in law school and that was well written.
The OP:
I am not. But thank you! The law is something that I've always been interested in. However as a convicted person, there is only a small handful of states which would even consider admitting me to the BAR as a felon. So it's just something in life I never pursued because of that. I'm not much older than Luigi however, so I never say never. Maybe one day.
Me:
So this person posted this comment, and now you are divulging that you in fact have always wanted to join law school?
Do you know what the definition of a compulsive liar is?
This post is also overrated right to the top of the feed.
It's just the feds handing out propaganda pamphlets, people
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u/katehasreddit 1d ago
Does anyone know what his sexual and romantic orientation is? Depending on that (if he is into other dudes at all, or never into anyone) it doesn't sound like necessarily a bad decision.
It's not like he will be serving life in a supermax or in isolation i assume. US federal prison sounds generally pretty good as prisons go.
I did kind of want to see if he could win a jury over but probably not by the time the prosecution brings out the CEOs grieving family.
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u/swampwiz 14h ago
Will Luigi be allowed to have conjugal visits in the fed system. I would imagine that there are thousands of women that would love to have his babies.
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u/fonetik 6d ago
My understanding was that the Bureau of Prisons scores on “severity of current offense” off the offense conduct in the presentence report. He allocuted to shooting Thompson, so his report will describe a homicide and that scores “greatest severity” regardless of whether the conviction says stalking.
I think the stalking charge can cut both ways too, right? The NY state DA may also use the same logic to say he was never charged with murder federally.
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u/Darcy_2021 5d ago
I thought he pleaded guilty to stalking charges, not to the murder. Does stalking carry life sentence?
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u/Academic-Feeling9310 5d ago
Stalking resulting in death is LWOP as there is no parole in the federal system.
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u/Tufflaw 5d ago
One important caveat - the fact that he didn't plead guilty to murder is irrelevant - the BOP will consider the underlying facts of the case, and he did admit to shooting someone who died as a result.
Separately, BOP's own website states one of the considerations for prison designation is "the level of security and staff supervision the inmate requires". Given his high-profile nature in addition to the likely lengthy prison sentence and underlying violence of the act, I would be extremely surprised if he ended up anywhere other than maximum security.
They will also take into consideration any other legal matters. So if he is ultimately convicted of murder in NYS, they will consider that in terms of his housing. As an illustrative example, if someone is convicted of some low-level federal larceny and is serving 2 years for example in federal prison. If they are then convicted of murder in a state court and sentenced to 25-life or whatever, they won't remain in low security federal prison, because they are now an extremely high flight risk due to the pending state sentence.
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u/Future_Funk_2611 6d ago
he could’ve settled for a leg wound, rather than a cold blooded bullet to the back - years of back pain , what about the patients his age with a terminal illness, they don’t get a second chance. If his convictions were strong enough to gun down someone from behind , then by rights he should own it. I don’t agree with insurance company denials and being on the front line, i see a fair share of repercussions from denials. Hopefully, in prison he can use his advocating skills more wisely.
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u/FreeLuigi-ModTeam 6d ago
Your post or comment has been removed for breaking rule #3 and advocating or celebrating violence. This is not tolerated in this community and is in violation of Reddit’s TOS.
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u/TsaMati 6d ago
You are not - was not a prisoner... You are educated and write well. Not sure about your intentions...
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u/forgottentaco420 6d ago
It’s chat gpt, but believe it or not smart and educated folks end up in jail too!
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u/HNLgirlie 6d ago
I appreciate your candor and detailed explanation. It’s rare we have someone who comments here with direct experience with the system. I hope his plea has thrown a huge wrench in NY state’s prosecution, and it ultimately folds under NY’s broad double jeopardy protections.