TUCSON, Ariz. —
Jared Lee Loughner pleaded guilty Tuesday to going on a shooting rampage at a political gathering, killing six people and wounding 13 others, including his intended target, then-Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
Loughner’s plea spares him the death penalty and came soon after a federal judge found that months of forcibly medicating him to treat his schizophrenia had made the 23-year-old college dropout competent.
At one point, Judge Larry A. Burns asked Loughner if he understood the charges against him and what the government would need to convict him.
“Yes, I understand,” Loughner replied.
The judge said that Loughner was a different person and that he is able to help his lawyers in his defense. Burns said that observing Loughner in the court left “no question that he understands what’s happening today.”
Loughner faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The outcome was welcomed by some victims, including Giffords herself, as a way to avoid a lengthy, possibly traumatic trial and years of legal wrangling over a death sentence.
“The pain and loss caused by the events of Jan. 8, 2011, are incalculable,” Giffords said in a joint statement with her husband, Mark Kelly. “Avoiding a trial will allow us — and we hope the whole Southern Arizona community — to continue with our recovery.”
Experts had concluded that Loughner suffers from schizophrenia, and officials at a federal prison have forcibly medicated him with psychotropic drugs for more than a year.
Court-appointed pyschologist Christina Pietz testified for an hour about how she believes Loughner became competent. Loughner listened calmly without expression. His arms were crossed over his stomach, lurched slightly forward and looking straight at Pietz.
At one point, he smiled and nodded when psychologist mentioned he had a special bond with one of the prison guards.
A plea agreement offers something for both sides, said Quin Denvir, a California defense attorney who has worked with Loughner attorney Judy Clarke on the case against unabomber Ted Kaczynski.
Prosecutors would avoid a potentially lengthy and costly trial and appeal, knowing that the defendant will be locked up for life. Clarke managed to avoid the death penalty for other high-profile clients such as Kaczynski and Eric Rudolph, who bombed abortion clinics in the late 1990s and Atlanta’s Olympic park in 1996.
The top prosecutor in southern Arizona’s Pima County said last year that she may file state charges in the case that could carry the death penalty. An official in the prosecutor’s office, Amelia Craig Cramer, declined to comment, saying the office did not have an active prosecution against Loughner.
Denvir said it was possible that the plea agreement calls for the state to avoid pursuing criminal charges against Loughner, though that’s not a given.
“Ideally (as a defense attorney) you’d like to have it resolved all at once, but sometimes you have to take one at a time,” he said.
The decision to spare Loughner a federal death sentence makes sense, said Dale Baich, a federal public defender in Phoenix who handles capital case appeals and isn’t involved in the case.
“As time went on and there were numerous evaluations, I think everybody had a better understanding of Mr. Loughner’s mental illness.” Baich said.
He added: “It appears that he will need to be treated for the rest of his life in order to remain competent.”
AP story section
August 7, 2012
Loughner pleads guilty to Ariz. shooting
- AP story section
-
-
Wash. I-5 bridge collapse caused by oversize load
A truck carrying an oversize load struck a bridge on the major thoroughfare between Seattle and Canada, sending a section of the span and two vehicles into the Skagit River below, though all three occupants suffered only minor injuries.
-
$2B in tornado damage means hard recovery
MOORE, Okla. -- All that is left of Shayne Patterson's three-bedroom home is the tiny area where his wife hunkered down under a mattress to protect their three children when a tornado packing winds of at least 200 mph slammed through his neighborhood
-
Iowa lawmakers have deal on low-income health care
After staunchly opposing an expansion of Iowa's Medicaid program using federal funds, Gov. Terry Branstad has agreed to seek the funding for an alternate health plan for low-income residents.
-
Residents come home to pick up the pieces
MOORE, Okla. (AP) -- With her son holding her elbow, Colleen Arvin walked up her driveway to what was left of her house for 40 years. It was the 83-year-old grandmother's first time back at her home since a monstrous and deadly tornado ravaged her ne
-
Iowa lawmakers look to end legislative session
Iowa lawmakers are expected back in the state Capitol on Wednesday and legislative leaders say they are close to concluding the 2013 session.
-
Gas prices up 11 cents over past 2 weeks
CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) -- The average U.S. price of a gallon of gasoline has jumped 11 cents over the past two weeks. The Lundberg Survey of fuel prices released Sunday says the price of a gallon of regular is $3.66. Midgrade costs an average of $3.8
-
HIV-infected teacher's aide accused of molestation
ST. LOUIS -- An Illinois special-needs teaching assistant accused of molesting a teenage student in school while knowingly infected with HIV remained jailed Tuesday as police investigated another claim of similar misconduct by the man involving a dif
-
Tougher threshold recommended
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- States should cut their threshold for drunken driving by nearly half -- from .08 blood alcohol level to 0.5 -- matching a standard that has substantially reduced highway deaths in other countries, a U.S. safety board recommends. T
-
Scranton shared close bond
SCRANTON, Pa. -- NBC's long-running "The Office" was a faux documentary about cubicle life. The Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin Paper Co. didn't exist. Try telling that to merchants, tourism officials and regular folks here in the real-world city
-
King, Messiah: New baby names suggest high hopes
WASHINGTON — Talk about high expectations for a newborn: King and Messiah are among the fastest-rising baby names for American boys. They're just a little behind Major, the boy's name that jumped the most spots on the Social Security Administration
- More AP story section Headlines
-
