It's Wednesday, April 2nd, 2025. I'm Albert Moeller, and this is the briefing, a daily analysis of news and events from a Christian worldview.

The Attorney General of the United States, Pamela Bondi, announced yesterday that the Justice Department will seek the death penalty in the prosecution of

Luigi Mangione, the man who is now charged officially with premeditated, cold-blooded assassination

in the Attorney General's terms, in the killing after stalking of health care executive

Brian Thompson. That took place on December the 4th, 2024. So just a matter of less than a year ago. And as the Justice Department

statement released, quote, the murder was an act of political violence. Mangione's

actions involved substantial planning and premeditation. And because the murder took

place in public with bystanders nearby may oppose a great risk to additional persons.

Okay, so I think all of us remember this crime when it took place.

And in a way that is not so unexpected now as in previous times it would have been impossible, you have all of this on film.

And so you actually see the murder taking place. And it was simply

defined cold-blooded murder. It was premeditated. It was intentional. This was a man who was

individually identified and staked out by the murderer who had a plan not only for the murder

of his victim, but also for his escape.

And so you really are looking at a premeditated plan.

You're looking at the definition of first-degree murder,

or at least what in most jurisdictions is called first-degree murder,

intentional homicide.

And the attorney general has said that the federal government

is going to be seeking the death penalty in this case.

Now, there are some really interesting things that come out of this.

For example, you have the Wall Street Journal's news coverage telling us this, quote,

...