Forcing the 27-year-old accused killer to continue appearing with his hands cuffed and sporting the Kevlar vest will “perpetuate a false narrative that Mr. Mangione is an unusual danger requiring extraordinary security measures” and “prejudice” him in the eyes of the jury, his lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo wrote in a legal filing.

Luigi Mangione's lawyers asked the judge presiding over his case to allow him not to be handcuffed or wear a bulletproof vest when seated at the counsel table in court during his next appearance. Newsweek reached out to Mangione's lawyers via email Tuesday for comment.

Luigi Mangione's legal team's working to free their client one body part at a time ... because they're now asking a judge to unshackle his hands in the courtroom for future appearances.