Lorena O’Neil
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lorenaoneil.com
Lorena O’Neil
@lorenaoneil.com
15K followers 1.8K following 290 posts
NOLA freelancer reporting on repro health, politics, culture, tech

Contributing writer at Rolling Stone & nonprofit newsroom @lailluminator.bsky.social

Bylines: The GuardianUS, Elle, The LA Times, Marie Claire, Jezebel

https://www.lorenaoneil.com
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lorenaoneil.com
“The only reason the federal government sought the death penalty is because of politics. Because the federal administration is desperate to protect corporate executives." - Richard Schoenstein
Trial lawyer and legal analyst Richard Schoenstein says, in his opinion, Mangione has a strong double jeopardy argument should a second case go to trial after a conviction. But he also says he’s disappointed about the fact that the federal and state prosecutors didn’t coordinate about which trial should go first, which has the more significant penalty, better evidence, chance of getting a conviction, and who did the investigation. “It’s absurd that they’re fighting about who goes first, and that is only because we’re in a world where politics rules prosecutor’s offices,” says Schoenstein. “The only reason the federal government sought the death penalty is because of politics. Because the federal administration is desperate to protect corporate executives. So if you kill one, you’re going to get the death penalty.” (The federal charges that would have carried a possibility of the death penalty were dropped on Jan. 30.)
February 7, 2026 at 5:39 PM
lorenaoneil.com
If the crimes are considered “substantially different” and are distinguishable from one another, even if they come from the same act, they can still both be prosecuted.
“It’s not double jeopardy,” says attorney Catherine Christian, of Mangione’s two cases. Christian worked as a prosecutor at the Manhattan District Attorney’s office and is now a criminal defense lawyer. “But I would argue it too, if I was them.” Christian says if she were Mangione’s defense attorney and he was convicted in state court, she’d immediately try to get the federal indictment dismissed. “I’d say, this is ridiculous, to go a block down [to federal court] and have this whole trial over again — which essentially is true, it would be — but it’s completely different charges. The same witnesses, the same criminal transaction, basically the same trial, but the crimes he’s being charged with federally just have different elements.” New York defense attorney Lance Clarke agrees with Christian’s assessment of Mangione’s federal and state cases not amounting to double jeopardy even though they seem similar. “Both cases arise from the same underlying events, but they are not identical,” says Clarke. “If the action itself is being litigated in both forms, but for different crimes, unfortunately that’s ok.”
February 7, 2026 at 5:39 PM
lorenaoneil.com
One lawyer pointed out that that Mangione’s team might have a good argument to appeal his case if they can argue that preparing for two trials simultaneously is overly burdensome. Another agreed it's all "really unfair"
February 7, 2026 at 5:38 PM
lorenaoneil.com
I spoke to a few lawyers about Luigi Mangione and double jeopardy after yesterday's tense hearing www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult... @rollingstone.com
Luigi Mangione Says He's Facing 'Double Jeopardy.' Here's What Legal Experts Say
Mangione, who is accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is facing both state and federal charges.
www.rollingstone.com
February 7, 2026 at 5:37 PM
Reposted by Lorena O’Neil
rollingstone.com
In December, an inmate died in custody after MDC’s medical staff missed a lung cancer diagnosis for an inmate complaining of chest pain.

“The results were somehow missed... and the delay was unfortunate,” the medical staff wrote.

More: www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
February 3, 2026 at 2:28 PM
Reposted by Lorena O’Neil
rollingstone.com
“The MDC has a long and documented history of inhumane conditions, including chronic overcrowding, severe understaffing, and woefully inadequate medical care,” criminal defense attorney Anna Estevao tells Rolling Stone.

🔗 www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
February 3, 2026 at 2:20 PM
Reposted by Lorena O’Neil
rollingstone.com
Sean Combs’ lawyers said he was threatened by an inmate with a shiv once.

“What people experience at MDC, it’s not just punishment, it’s neglect, chronic understaffing, systematic failure, dehumanization,” criminal defense attorney Lance Clarke says.

🔗 www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
February 3, 2026 at 2:16 PM
Reposted by Lorena O’Neil
rollingstone.com
The federal detention center has a reputation for extended lockdowns, lack of outside space, poor medical care, and violent brawls — it’s known for being cruel even when compared to other jails.

More: www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
February 3, 2026 at 2:05 PM
Reposted by Lorena O’Neil
rollingstone.com
Luigi Mangione, Nicolas Maduro, and Diddy Spent Time in This Jail. Here’s What It’s Like On the Inside

New York’s Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) is known for its famous names — but this isn’t ‘Club Fed.’

Story: www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
February 3, 2026 at 2:01 PM
lorenaoneil.com
My look at what it's like inside New York’s Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult... @rollingstone.com
Luigi Mangione, Nicolas Maduro, and Diddy Spent Time in This Jail. Here's What It's Like on the Inside
New York’s Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) is known for its famous names — but this isn’t ‘Club Fed’
www.rollingstone.com
February 3, 2026 at 3:28 PM
lorenaoneil.com
Killer reporting from @katherineeban.bsky.social
January 17, 2026 at 5:29 PM
Reposted by Lorena O’Neil
katherineeban.bsky.social
EXCLUSIVE: In my 1st @rollingstone.com story, internal
@hhsofficial.bsky.social emails show how 2 Danish scientists accused of "questionable research practices" got a $1.6 million grant aligned w/ Sec. Kennedy's theories to study HepB vaccine in Guinea-Bissau: rollingstone.com/politics/pol... /1
HHS Gave a $1.6 Million Grant to a Controversial Vaccine Study. These Emails Show How That Happened
Two Danish researchers faced accusations of “questionable research practices” as RFK Jr.’s top appointees made their study a “funding priority”
rollingstone.com
January 16, 2026 at 9:31 PM
lorenaoneil.com
To learn more about the Louisiana Ten Commandments debate, read my @rollingstone.com feature on it from Dec 2025: www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
Inside the Classrooms at the Center of the Church-State Battle
Louisiana wants to put the Ten Commandments in classrooms — and that’s just the beginning
www.rollingstone.com
January 15, 2026 at 10:37 PM
lorenaoneil.com
A unanimous three-judge panel from the Fifth Circuit previously ruled last June that Louisiana's HB 71 is "plainly unconstitutional" under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The court vacated that decision and is re-hearing the case by the whole court.
January 15, 2026 at 10:36 PM
lorenaoneil.com
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals announced they will be re-hearing two consolidated Ten Commandments cases -- one from Louisiana, another from TX -- that challenge state laws requiring public schools to display the religious text in every classroom
January 15, 2026 at 10:36 PM
lorenaoneil.com
“It parallels the same exact intention of physical rape and sexual assault, [which] is about power, domination, and humiliation. Deepfakes are absolutely a way of digitizing violent humiliation against other people.” -
@aoc.bsky.social
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was in a car talking with her staffers about legislation and casually scrolling through her X mentions when she saw the photo. It was the end of February, and after spending most of the week in D.C., she was looking forward to flying down to Orlando to see her mom after a work event. But everything left her mind once she saw the picture: a digitally altered image of someone forcing her to put her mouth on their genitals. Adrenaline coursed through her, and her first thought was “I need to get this off my screen.” She closed out of it, shaken. “There’s a shock to seeing images of yourself that someone could think are real,” the congresswoman tells me. It’s a few days after she saw the disturbing deepfake, and we’re waiting for our food in a corner booth of a retro-style diner in Queens, New York, near her neighborhood. She’s friendly and animated throughout our conversation, maintaining eye contact and passionately responding to my questions. When she tells me this story, though, she slows down, takes more pauses and plays with the delicate rings on her right hand. “As a survivor of physical sexual assault, it adds a level of dysregulation,” she says. “It resurfaces trauma, while I’m trying to — in the middle of a fucking meeting.”
January 13, 2026 at 8:57 PM
lorenaoneil.com
The Defiance Act passed the Senate today, it allows victims of nonconsensual sexually-explicit deepfakes to sue. @aoc.bsky.social has been working with Sen. Durbin and Sen. Graham on this legislation. Here's our conv. about the harm it causes: www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult... @rollingstone.com
Fake Photos, Real Harm: AOC and the Fight Against AI Porn
Artificial intelligence deepfakes are easier to make than ever — and our sense of reality and democracy are at risk
www.rollingstone.com
January 13, 2026 at 8:57 PM
Reposted by Lorena O’Neil
ocasio-cortez.house.gov
There is an explosion of AI generating explicit images of children.

And it's not just actresses. Across the country, more and more teenage girls are becoming victims of deepfake harassment.

Congress must step in and pass my DEFIANCE Act to ensure victims can seek justice.
January 6, 2026 at 5:36 PM
Reposted by Lorena O’Neil
clancyny.bsky.social
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny held a press conference a week after...[his] arrest in which he said Kathleen Mangione told law enforcement the crime “might be something that she could see him doing.”

However, there hasn’t been any evidence Mangione’s mother ever said this to law enforcement.
December 22, 2025 at 7:15 PM
lorenaoneil.com
Exclusive: I spoke with the SFPD officer who identified Luigi Mangione about whether his mother made those incriminating comments about him www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult... @rollingstone.com
San Francisco Cop Corrects the Record on Shocking Comments Allegedly from Luigi Mangione's Mom
The police officer who identified Mangione from a missing person’s report clears up misconceptions a year after the United Healthcare shooting
www.rollingstone.com
December 22, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Reposted by Lorena O’Neil
rollingstone.com
Trump's appointment of Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry as special envoy to Greenland has sparked controversy.

Read @lorenaoneil.com's 2024 deepdive inside Landry's crusade to tear down the wall between church and state.

Story: www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
December 22, 2025 at 2:44 PM
lorenaoneil.com
I spoke with three legal experts about what they think the chances are evidence from Luigi Mangione's arrest in McDonald's gets thrown out in his NY state case www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult... @rollingstone.com
Will Evidence in Luigi Mangione's Murder Trial Be Thrown Out?
Legal experts explain this month's hearings and what might happen in the case against the accused United Healthcare CEO shooter
www.rollingstone.com
December 21, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Reposted by Lorena O’Neil
rollingstone.com
On day two of the hearing, prosecutors entered into evidence never-before-seen body camera footage from multiple police officers as Luigi Mangione was questioned, identified, detained, and searched in a McDonald’s in Pa.

Read @lorenaoneil.com's dispatch: www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
December 3, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Reposted by Lorena O’Neil
rollingstone.com
Day 4 of Luigi Mangione's suppression hearings should begin shortly.

Read @lorenaoneil.com's day 3 dispatch: www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
December 5, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Reposted by Lorena O’Neil
rollingstone.com
“It’s fucking him, one hundred percent. It’s fucking him," a cop said after finding bullets in Luigi Mangione’s backpack.

Read @lorenaoneil.com's dispatch from today's suppression hearing: www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
December 9, 2025 at 8:51 PM