Jared Loughner will be sentenced today; he is sane 'enough' to have pled guilty and to be sentenced, but this man is clearly severely mentally ill, and was not mentally competent when he shot all those people.
Loughner was known to be mentally ill, but was not ADJUDICATED a danger to himself and others. His parents knew after meeting with school officials when he withdrew from a local community college; law enforcement knew when they were sent - two officers, not one - to deliver by hand the notification to Loughner and his parents.
Loughner should never have had access to a firearm or ammunition. Loughner's parents arguably should have taken the responsibility of having him diagnosed and committed somewhere for his illness before he did what he did. But even if they had done so, Arizona has a bad record for submitting the names of prohibited people to the NICS - as do so many other states. Without being on file in the NICS database that is maintained by the FBI, no FFL dealer could have known if Loughner was a drug addict, a convicted felon, an illegal alien, or someone determined by courts to be mentally ill. Therefore they would not have had any reason to deny him a purchase of a firearm.
Private parties aren't even held responsible for any kind of background check, including when they clearly are engaged in selling as a continuing business at gun shows.
It is not only Loughner who has shot and killed people while suffering from schizophrenia; that also appears to be true of James Holmes in the Aurora, Colorado shooting, and true of many of the other mass shooters in this country. What we have over and over is too often the dangerously mentally ill can easily buy guns - that appears to have been the case with our own recent mass shooting here in Minneapolis.
We need to do more to keep prohibited people from easily obtaining guns, as a means of preventing them from shooting people, either injuring them or killing them - or just threatening them. Other countries have their share of mentally ill people. What they do not have is a similar problem with mass shootings by those who are dangerously mentally ill, nor do they have a similar problem with gun violence in murder suicides or single-individual suicides.
While not every attempted mass killing can be avoided, so many more could be if we simply make the decision to do so and apply our political will. We are not free when we live with such violence from those who are obsessed with guns; they endanger us all.
from the AP
JACQUES BILLEAUD
Published: 55 minutes ago
FILE - This photo provided on Feb. 22, 2011, by the U.S. Marshal's Service shows Jared Lee Loughner. Loughner, who pleaded guilty in the Arizona shooting rampage, will be sentenced Thursday, Nov. 8, 2012, for the attack that left six people dead and wounded former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords as well as 12 others. (AP Photo/U.S. Marshal's Office, File)
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - The man who went on a shooting rampage in Arizona last year that left six people dead and 13 others wounded, including former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, is due to be sentenced Thursday.
The hearing marks the first chance for victims to confront Jared Lee Loughner in court since his January 2011 attack at a Giffords political event outside a Tucson, Ariz., grocery store.
Prosecutors say some victims will comment before U.S. District Judge Larry Burns sentences Loughner. It wasn't known whether Giffords or her husband will attend. Three shooting victims have told The Associated Press that they intend to comment at the hearing.
The 24-year-old pleaded guilty three months ago to 19 federal charges under an agreement that guarantees he will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole. The deal calls for the dismissal of 30 other charges and a sentence of seven consecutive life terms, followed by 140 years in prison.
Both sides reached the deal after a judge declared that Loughner was able to understand the charges against him. After the shooting, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and underwent forcible psychotropic drug treatments.
Some victims, including Giffords, welcomed the deal as a way to move on. It spared victims and their families from having to go through a potentially lengthy and traumatic trial and locks up the defendant for life.
Ron Barber, a former Giffords staffer who was shot in the cheek and thigh during the attack and later won election to her seat when Giffords stepped down, plans to make a statement, said his spokesman, Mark Kimble.
Suzi Hileman, who was shot three times while trying to save her 9-year-old neighbor, and Mavy Stoddard, whose husband died shielding her from bullets, plan to address the court.
"He has to pay the consequences for what he did, and justice will be served," Hileman said.
Judy Clarke, Loughner's lead attorney, didn't return messages seeking comment.
Christina Pietz, the court-appointed psychologist who treated Loughner, had warned that although Loughner was competent to plead guilty, he remained severely mentally ill and his condition could deteriorate under the stress of a trial.
When Loughner first arrived at a Missouri prison facility for treatment, he was convinced Giffords was dead, even though he was shown a video of the shooting. He eventually realized she was alive after he was forcibly medicated.
It's unknown whether Pima County prosecutors, who have discretion on whether to seek the death penalty against Loughner, will file state charges against him. Stephanie Coronado, a spokeswoman for Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall, said Wednesday that no decision had been made.
It's unclear where Loughner will be sent to serve his federal sentence. He could return to a prison medical facility like the one in Springfield, Mo., where he's been treated for more than a year. Or he could end up in a prison such as the federal lockup in Florence, Colo., that houses some of the country's most notorious criminals, including Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols and "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski.
Loughner was known to be mentally ill, but was not ADJUDICATED a danger to himself and others. His parents knew after meeting with school officials when he withdrew from a local community college; law enforcement knew when they were sent - two officers, not one - to deliver by hand the notification to Loughner and his parents.
Loughner should never have had access to a firearm or ammunition. Loughner's parents arguably should have taken the responsibility of having him diagnosed and committed somewhere for his illness before he did what he did. But even if they had done so, Arizona has a bad record for submitting the names of prohibited people to the NICS - as do so many other states. Without being on file in the NICS database that is maintained by the FBI, no FFL dealer could have known if Loughner was a drug addict, a convicted felon, an illegal alien, or someone determined by courts to be mentally ill. Therefore they would not have had any reason to deny him a purchase of a firearm.
Private parties aren't even held responsible for any kind of background check, including when they clearly are engaged in selling as a continuing business at gun shows.
It is not only Loughner who has shot and killed people while suffering from schizophrenia; that also appears to be true of James Holmes in the Aurora, Colorado shooting, and true of many of the other mass shooters in this country. What we have over and over is too often the dangerously mentally ill can easily buy guns - that appears to have been the case with our own recent mass shooting here in Minneapolis.
We need to do more to keep prohibited people from easily obtaining guns, as a means of preventing them from shooting people, either injuring them or killing them - or just threatening them. Other countries have their share of mentally ill people. What they do not have is a similar problem with mass shootings by those who are dangerously mentally ill, nor do they have a similar problem with gun violence in murder suicides or single-individual suicides.
While not every attempted mass killing can be avoided, so many more could be if we simply make the decision to do so and apply our political will. We are not free when we live with such violence from those who are obsessed with guns; they endanger us all.
from the AP
Loughner to be sentenced for Ariz. mass shooting
Story user rating:
JACQUES BILLEAUD
Published: 55 minutes ago
FILE - This photo provided on Feb. 22, 2011, by the U.S. Marshal's Service shows Jared Lee Loughner. Loughner, who pleaded guilty in the Arizona shooting rampage, will be sentenced Thursday, Nov. 8, 2012, for the attack that left six people dead and wounded former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords as well as 12 others. (AP Photo/U.S. Marshal's Office, File)
The hearing marks the first chance for victims to confront Jared Lee Loughner in court since his January 2011 attack at a Giffords political event outside a Tucson, Ariz., grocery store.
Prosecutors say some victims will comment before U.S. District Judge Larry Burns sentences Loughner. It wasn't known whether Giffords or her husband will attend. Three shooting victims have told The Associated Press that they intend to comment at the hearing.
The 24-year-old pleaded guilty three months ago to 19 federal charges under an agreement that guarantees he will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole. The deal calls for the dismissal of 30 other charges and a sentence of seven consecutive life terms, followed by 140 years in prison.
Both sides reached the deal after a judge declared that Loughner was able to understand the charges against him. After the shooting, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and underwent forcible psychotropic drug treatments.
Some victims, including Giffords, welcomed the deal as a way to move on. It spared victims and their families from having to go through a potentially lengthy and traumatic trial and locks up the defendant for life.
Ron Barber, a former Giffords staffer who was shot in the cheek and thigh during the attack and later won election to her seat when Giffords stepped down, plans to make a statement, said his spokesman, Mark Kimble.
Suzi Hileman, who was shot three times while trying to save her 9-year-old neighbor, and Mavy Stoddard, whose husband died shielding her from bullets, plan to address the court.
"He has to pay the consequences for what he did, and justice will be served," Hileman said.
Judy Clarke, Loughner's lead attorney, didn't return messages seeking comment.
Christina Pietz, the court-appointed psychologist who treated Loughner, had warned that although Loughner was competent to plead guilty, he remained severely mentally ill and his condition could deteriorate under the stress of a trial.
When Loughner first arrived at a Missouri prison facility for treatment, he was convinced Giffords was dead, even though he was shown a video of the shooting. He eventually realized she was alive after he was forcibly medicated.
It's unknown whether Pima County prosecutors, who have discretion on whether to seek the death penalty against Loughner, will file state charges against him. Stephanie Coronado, a spokeswoman for Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall, said Wednesday that no decision had been made.
It's unclear where Loughner will be sent to serve his federal sentence. He could return to a prison medical facility like the one in Springfield, Mo., where he's been treated for more than a year. Or he could end up in a prison such as the federal lockup in Florence, Colo., that houses some of the country's most notorious criminals, including Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols and "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski.
No comments:
Post a Comment