Luigi Mangione Changed Prison Guards' Behavior, Inmate Says

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Before he was extradited to New York, Luigi Mangione's brief time at the State Correctional Institution (SCI) in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, left a lasting impression on the prison and its guards, according to Vaughn Wright, a writer incarcerated at the facility.

Mangione's attorneys at the Agnifilo Intrater law firm declined to comment when emailed by Newsweek.

Newsweek also reached out to SCI Huntingdon for comment via email.

Why It Matters

Mangione, 26, is charged with murder and a slew of other state and federal charges in connection to the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City on December 4.

Mangione has captured the nation's attention in the weeks since, amassing a large fan base and reigniting a national conversation about the American health insurance industry.

What to Know

In an essay published Thursday by the Prison Journalism Project, Wright said he noticed a significant shift in guards' behavior during Mangione's brief incarceration at SCI Huntingdon.

"Mangione's notoriety likely softened the amount of oppression the guards here would usually dispense because they wanted something from him," he wrote.

Wright said Mangione was placed in the prison's D Block, typically reserved for death row inmates.

"Every time he was escorted from his cell, D Block got locked down. During lockdowns, all prisoner movement is prohibited," Wright said.

Instead of the standard inmate uniform, Wright wrote that Mangione wore a "turtle suit," a padded blue garment designed to prevent self-harm.

Wright also recalled the media attention on the prison when NewsNation reporter Ashleigh Banfield was in front of it for a live shot.

The inmates watched the shot from the prison TVs and began corresponding with Banfield and her colleague Alex Caprariello by yelling out the windows and flashing their cell lights, Wright wrote.

"I haven't heard voices here raised in such raucous unison since 2018, when the Philadelphia Eagles won the 2017 Super Bowl," he continued. "Though it was hard for Caprariello to hear anyone shouting from C Block, where I live, I suppose people relished the moment to have a voice."

But prison administrators cracked down after these interactions, the essay said. According to Wright, the deputy superintendent warned inmates against further displays, threatening disciplinary action including solitary confinement. While the threat quelled the light signals, it didn't suppress inmates' voices entirely.

"You'll notice in subsequent NewsNation interviews outside E Block that guys were still vocal, just not so much with the lights, to avoid being traced back to a particular cell. The deputy superintendent's threat was all the act-right motivation they needed. Freedom of speech suppressed? Check," Wright wrote.

What People Are Saying

Dr. Cliff Lampe, professor of information and associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Information at the University of Michigan, previously told Newsweek about Mangione's fame: "With the Mangione posts, we're seeing a form of publishing related to a broader societal dissatisfaction with the status quo."

"With both increased income inequality and at least a perceived sense of lack of agency around corporate power, people turn to social media expression to vent and engage in a flexible dialog about societal issues. Through darkly humorous posts, expressions of admiration, sarcasm and other forms of rhetoric, people are rebuilding a sense of agency by reacting to their personal audiences."

Susan Campbell, distinguished lecturer at the University of New Haven's Department of Communications, Film, and Media Studies previously told Newsweek: "People like Luigi Mangione become folk heroes when people feel powerless against systems they feel have failed them. The health insurance industry has let so many people down, and then up steps this young man to shoot one of the industry's leaders."