Luigi Mangione Forced To Wear A ‘Suicide Smock’ To Prevent Self-Harm, Fellow Inmate Reveals

Luigi Mangione’s fellow inmate at the State Correctional Institution (SCI) at Huntingdon has shared a notable overview of his and the other inmates’ time with the accused vigilante assassin.

Charged for the Dec. 4 murder of the United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, Mangione was first arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on gun possession and sale identification charges. On Dec. 19, he was transferred to a Brooklyn lockup.

In an article published on Jan. 23 by the Prison Journalism Project, Mangione’s fellow SCI Huntington inmate of roughly ten days, Vaughn Wright, shared details from his experience.

Wright wrote, “Every time [Mangione] was escorted from his cell, D block locked down…during lockdowns, all prisoner movement is prohibited.” D Block is where death row inmates were previously held.

Wright further noted that, unlike the other inmates’ trademark orange jumpsuits, Mangione was made to wear a “turtle suit,” also known as a “suicide smock.” Such a garment is specifically designed to be tear-resistant in order to prevent potentially suicidal inmates from making a noose. 

NewsNation’s Ashleigh Banfield found that when she went live outside SCI Huntingdon, the prisoners would frequently yell back or “blink their lights in response” to her reports. Shouts from the inmates included declarations like, “Luigi’s conditions suck!” and “Free Luigi!”

Wright wrote, “I haven’t heard voices here raised in such raucous unison since 2018 when the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl.”

He added, “I suppose people relished the moment to have a voice.”

When Mangione arrived in New York City, social media quickly noted his neatly trimmed haircut and groomed eyebrows, many speculating that this demonstrated an effort by Mangione’s fellow inmates to make clear his respected status among the prisoners.

Wright also attested that the prison guards treated Mangione better than the other inmates “because they wanted something from him.”

“Everyone wanted a piece of the biggest crime story in the nation,” Wright declared. “Now, nearly 2,000 of us are a part of that story. No matter what, Mangione is and will forever be an SCI Huntingdon alumnus.”

He concluded, “[Mangione’s] brothers here will intently follow his case as it moves forward through the criminal justice system, all the while telling anyone who’ll listen, if it had been them, what they would have done to keep from getting arrested in the first place.”