A judge has thrown out the top counts in Luigi Mangione’s state murder case – rejecting claims that the accused killer can be charged as a terrorist — in a huge blow to prosecutors.

In a ruling released Tuesday, Judge Gregory Carro tossed charges of murder in the first degree as an act of terrorism and murder in the second degree against the 27-year-old Ivy League grad. 5

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The judge did keep alive Mangione’s second-degree murder charge. The decision means that Mangione now faces 15-years-to-life in the state case, rather than the 25 years to life without the possibility of parole that he had been facing. 5

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Mangione still faces separate federal charges that carry a possible death penalty.

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