Loughner Found Unfit for Trial After ‘Freak Show’ Courtroom Outburst
- Posted on May 25, 2011 at 3:16pm by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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PHOENIX (AP) — A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the suspect in the Tucson shooting rampage that wounded U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is mentally incompetent to stand trial, putting the criminal case against him on hold indefinitely.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Larry Burns means Jared Lee Loughner, 21, will be sent to a federal facility for up to four months in a bid to restore his competency.
Loughner, dressed in a khaki prison suit and sporting bushy, reddish sideburns, was removed from the hearing after an outburst and had to watch part of the proceeding on a TV screen in another room. Burns had Loughner escorted from the courtroom after Loughner lowered his head and said what sounded like: “Thank you for the freak show. She died in front of me.” His head was inches from the table in front of him.
Loughner was later brought back into the courtroom, and the judged told him he had a right to watch the hearing. Burns asked Loughner if he wanted to stay in the courtroom and behave or view the proceeding on a screen in another room.
Loughner responded: “I want to watch the TV screen.”
At least two survivors of the Jan. 8 attack looked on: Giffords aide Pam Simon, who was shot in the chest and right wrist; and retired Army Col. Bill Badger, who is credited with helping subdue Loughner after a bullet grazed the back of Badger’s head.
The ruling came after Loughner spent five weeks in March and April at a federal facility in Springfield, Mo., where he was examined by two court-appointed mental health professionals. The two were asked to determine whether Loughner understands the consequences of the case against him.
The competency reports by psychologist Christina Pietz and psychiatrist Matthew Carroll haven’t been publicly released.
Loughner has pleaded not guilty to 49 federal charges stemming from the Jan. 8 shooting at a meet-and-greet event that wounded Giffords and 12 others and killed six people, including a 9-year-old girl and a federal judge.
Prosecutors had asked for the mental exam, citing a YouTube video in which they believe a hooded Loughner wore garbage bags and burned an American flag.
The judge gave the two mental health professionals access to Loughner’s health records from his pediatrician, a behavioral health hospital that treated him for extreme intoxication in May 2006 and an urgent care center where he was treated in 2004 for unknown reasons.
Loughner will be sent to a federal facility for a maximum of four months to see if his competency can be restored. If he’s later determined to be competent, the case against him will resume.
If he isn’t deemed competent at the end of his treatment, his stay at the facility can be extended. There are no limits on the number of times such extensions can be granted.
If doctors conclude they can’t restore his mental competency, the judge would have to decide whether the suspect can be restored. If the judge decides there’s no likelihood of restoration, the judge can dismiss the charges against him. In that case, state and federal authorities can petition to have him civilly committed and could seek to extend that commitment repeatedly, said Heather Williams, a federal public defender in Tucson who isn’t involved in the Loughner case.
The doctors who examined Loughner were ordered not to focus on his sanity at the time of the shooting.
Loughner‘s lawyers haven’t said whether they intend to present an insanity defense. But they noted in court filings that his mental condition will likely be a central issue at trial and described him as a “gravely mentally ill man.”
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Comments (133)
I.Gaspar
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:29pmThe liberal argument that someone deemed “insane” or “incompetent” cannot be held accountable for his or her actions in a case like this makes me sick.
Report Post »A crazy person (can I say that in our PC world?) jumps off the Empire State Building and dies.
Should we make him undead because he can’t be held accountable for his actions?
This animal should be put to sleep the same way a pitbull would be put down if it mauled a child.
I don’t think it matters “why” he did it. He did it and he should be put to death.
Period.
ModerationIsBest
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:29pmJust imagine if someone else had a gun
Report Post »1. Could shoot Loughner dead instead of “detaining him.”
2. Family members of the victims would have instant justice.
3. Tons of time and taxpayer money would will saved.
Ricky A. Patriotson
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:28pmJust shoot the ba$tard and put him out of our misery.
Report Post »ED4237
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:27pmThis guy is a nut job and should still see the inside of a court room and then prison for life.
Report Post »gmamesw
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:45pmHe has friends in high places–he will never do a day of prison time. All of a sudden he will be rehabilitated!
Report Post »nomercy63
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:27pmLook at the two idiots that shot Lennon and Reagan, they haven’t been suffering at all. quick trial then hanging the next few weeks that is how it used to be done.
Report Post »momprayn
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:26pmClear case of demonic possession…..it’s not that uncommon you know…..in fact, there‘s a bunch in the WH I’m afraid……..
Report Post »Mary M. Tebbe
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:49pmmomprayn: A voice of reason…I agree with you.
Report Post »68Truthseeker
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:24pmFull interview
Jerome Corsi To File Criminal Charges Over Obama Birth Certificate. 5/24/11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmmqaXn6S90
Report Post »momprayn
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:27pmYeah, thanks – got that on the other thread….great news!!!! I’m encouraged.
Report Post »DagneyT
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:23pmIs it just me, or does this sound like he’s gaming the system?
Report Post »Libby Tarian
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:19pmI think Loughner would make good compost.
Report Post »RepubliCorp
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 6:35pmyou can eat that tomato
Report Post »mossbrain
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:18pmHe is obviously insane and was for some time, even being kicked out of school. A precedent needs to be set here. His parents need to be charged with murder, and I’m serious. His parents did nothing, THEY ARE murders.
Report Post »RepubliCorp
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 5:50pmHe is over 18…….. they couldn‘t do anything he wasn’t willing to go along with
Report Post »regressive_democrat
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:18pmForever a registered democrat voter….
Report Post »Its Gonna Getcha
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:03pmStill questioning if Obama’s negative rhetoric regarding Arizona/Mexican border may have inspired this shooting, and Gabby was at the wrong place at the right time.
Report Post »BONETRAUMA
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:02pmAnother charlie manson story…..too crazy to be put to sleep…..right
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:11pmFunny, I was just thinking how he reminds me of Manson, without the harem.
Report Post »LOOKING_BOTH_WAYS
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:32pmManson did receive the death penalty, but Ca. outlawed it before they put him to death
Report Post »MIBUGNU2
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 7:31pmI’ll venture to say both court-appointed mental health professionals
are Liberals.. This guy would be a good cell mate with Charlie Manson.
Now that would be a Reality Show I could watch….Weird Justice !!
Report Post »AZBabe
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 3:58pmThis guy will never stand trial. They will keep him locked up in a mental facility as long as they can, just like that crazy that shot Reagan. The libs think they can rehabilitate this guy.
Report Post »quickstudy
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 3:55pmEven if he is not mentally fit, that doesn’t change what he did. He should be tried regardless. Hopefully executed.
Report Post »chips1
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:47pmAre you talking about BHO?
Report Post »adouglass1
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 5:02pm@chips lol too funny!! Dont forget to buy the old style lightbulbs before their banned!! lol and sugar coffee tea spice ice cream both Chocolate and Vanilla flavors as well as gas deodorant soda chips etc etc!!
Report Post »Doris
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 3:55pmOur great judicial system at work again. And they wonder why we dont want to try terrorists in federal court. They ,including this creep belong in a military tribunal. It happened on a base during wartime for Gods sake.In 4 months they will say he is still incompetant and then when no one is paying attention he will receive a pardon.
Report Post »Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:35pm@DORIS
Report Post »What? Me thinks you have the wrong guy.
I thought it happened in a strip mall in Arizona. what war is going on there, besides the border war?
TheGreyPiper
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 3:41pmUh,yeah, I think we know what he did. This isn’t like the Boston Glob or PMSNBC where they have to explain everything as a preface to instruct you what to think and feel about it too.
Report Post »adouglass1
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 3:39pmThe guy is nuts must be LACTS cousin!!
Report Post »adouglass1
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:58pmlol that was a perfect family history!! lol rofling you hit the nail on the head!!
Report Post »Strong-oldman
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 3:39pmI blame Obama
Report Post »Professional Infidel
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 9:24pmme to
Report Post »NickDeringer
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 3:39pmLet me just say that in my considered opinion Mr. Loughner is demon possessed.
Report Post »Jd85
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:26pmThat is worse that the insanity plea…. the guy knows what he did and would do it again… eye for an eye is what needs to be done… now this dude will live the rest of his life in a padded room being served up some of the best drugs he could ever hope to get his hands on… this is probably the best case scenario for him…
Report Post »Gripegut
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 3:37pmNo mention in the stroy of the 6 people he killed and the other 12 people he shot (total of 19). The story just mentions Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. What is wrong with our society? Don’t these people deserve to be mentioned in the story? Are their lives so meaningless? Do we scrape and bow to our elected officials to the point where the rest of us are just unmentionable serfs?
Report Post »cripplecreek
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 3:30pmShould have thrown him out of court and into an alligator pit.
Report Post »TheGreyPiper
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 3:36pmHey, that ties in with the alligator moat Arizona needs anyway!
Report Post »vennoye
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:26pmThink Bobcats might be more readily available!
Report Post »Vet42
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 3:26pmMore like , “He will be living at our expense for the rest of his sorry life.”
Report Post »KickinBack
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 3:25pmSlap ‘em in a straight jacket and send him to the funny farm for life. Would be worse than prison I’d think.
Report Post »SavingtheRepublic.com
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 3:34pmNaa put him in general population, let the prison population deal with him and save taxpayers a few bucks.
Report Post »Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 3:46pmThat saved us some money keeping Jeffery Dahmer alive.
Report Post »Ricky A. Patriotson
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:30pmwhy make us pay to keep him alive?
Report Post »adouglass1
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:59pmNo can we just bring back the old shooting party thing or public hangings would be better!! I will bring the popcorn lol. For the lefties dont get all upset you dont have to watch!!! lol
Report Post »GUT_CHECK
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 5:03pmSO MANY SMART COMMENTS, its hard to wrap my head around you guys.
but i have a question…
what incentives stand on each side of the psychological exam.
would a doctor likely go green or red to keep his/her own butt out of a sling?
what is the likelyhood of a “flipped lid verdict”?
ok, if i can get some answers from realistic thinkers,
otherwise just go back to the “do this to ‘im, and then do this”
freedom, prosperity and peace, Ron Paul 2012
Report Post »smokie
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 5:09pmIt‘s a ’pick up your mat and walk’ deal. He’s faked it so long, he actually believes he’s crazy. Have him sit in court during the trial, but start every day with the bailiff smakcing him silly and yelling “Snap out of it!”
Report Post »He’ll turn sane quick enough. I have a relative like that- pretended crazy to get out of work, even to the point of taking the scrip drugs, now thanks to the drugs, he’s batty as all hell, and lives in an old folks’ home at 43.
Great way to sell your soul, neh?
OneRepublic4us
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 6:34pmArizona used to use the gas chamber for executions before lethal injection. I’m all for bringing that back.
Report Post »Professional Infidel
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 9:02pmhis casualty will vote again, not only can’t stand trial, can’t follow instructions, (his own) or was a poor shot.
Report Post »Lost Shaker Assault
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 11:46pmIf we had a real justice-system, we would only need graveyards, insane asylums, and jails. The two latter being very small. no prison needed.
Report Post »ghost-of-elvis
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 7:03pmthat way he can convert to the religion of peace, right??
Report Post »BetsyRoss1
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 3:22pmHe will be forever behind bars!
Report Post »johnnyvaughn
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 3:25pmThere will be some crackpot lawyer that will try to set him free.
LetUsReason
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 3:25pmThis is an act…of course he’s mentally fit. Death penalty.
Report Post »cheezwhiz
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 3:26pmThe suspect in the Arizona shooting rampage that wounded U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords
Report Post »————-
I thought he assasinated a judge !
Will he be punished for that ?
13th Imam
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 3:29pmJohnny Crackpot,,Trial Lawyer, rather redundant, wouldn’t you say???
Report Post »Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 3:30pm“He will be forever behind bars!”
One would think that, but John Hinckley, Jr. may be getting out soon.
Report Post »SavingtheRepublic.com
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 3:31pm^______^______^
Why waste taxpayer dollars keeping him locked up. Needs to meet the fate he dealt to so many including 9… N I N E yr old Christina Taylor Green.
Correct me if Im wrong but didnt one of his friends suggest its all an act, acting crazy, where this latest outburst is just part of his plan?
Report Post »cheezwhiz
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 3:40pmAny comments from the killer’s benefactor, the Sherrif Dipstick ?
Report Post »The one who is protecting those who recently shot a marine
cemerius
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 3:41pmJohn Hinckley, Jr treatment in a temporary starch white rubber room house? Nice to see he is the “shooting rampage that wounded U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords”. Rather then the psychotic individual who killed a federal judge or killed an innocent 9-year old girl!!!!! Wounded Gabrielle Giffords!!?? Someone sure is trying to make her a martyr against gun laws huh?
Report Post »Showtime
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 3:42pmHe’s a smart guy. We should be taking notes!
I didn’t expect a judge to declare him competent to stand trial. Bad decision, imo.
Report Post »Showtime
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 3:45pmSomeone needs to tell him to stick his head in a vat of boiling water if he thinks he’s sane and/or innocent. That would be a true test! And real justice.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:00pm@BetsyRoss:
So long as he stays there and as others post, no bleeding hearted lawyer tries to get him out, them let him live behind bars for the rest of his life. Personally, they should stick him in a cell with Pelosi and weld the doors shut behind them.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:04pmQuestion though, now that he is found incompetent in a Federal Court; is he still able to face charges in the State Courts here in AZ? Or will he be confined in a Fed prison for his lifetime?
Report Post »CatB
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:17pm@BETSY
Not necessarily ….
Report Post »coladude
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:19pmThis is stupid.
http://politicalbowl.com – Political Videos
Report Post »dizzyinthedark
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:25pmGoing for the ‘insane’ verdict?! What! I do hope they all remember how ‘sane’ this man was when he plotted to do his evil. This man is not insane, but cold and calculating as he is being now in the court room–calculating so as to look insane. He should get the death sentence and we should not have to pay for his breathing, eating, thinking, conversing with other men for the rest of his life behind bars.
Report Post »fatjack
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:31pm“The decision by U.S. District Judge Larry Burns means Jared Lee Loughner, 21, will be sent to a federal facility for up to four months in a bid to restore his competency.”
What a joke.
Report Post »chfields62
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:37pmJudging how the court system has been working, I say he’s out on the streets after a while….
Report Post »CatB
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 4:49pmToo bad one of those guys with a concealed carry didn’t take him out forever.
Report Post »stifroc
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 5:29pmApparently he was mentally able to stalk her, harass her, find out she was going to be at a grocery store, get in his car and drive himself there, wait in line, and then shoot her and several other people.
I believe he should spend time in Guantanamo Bay and questioned to see if he knows any terrorists.
Report Post »Professional Infidel
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 6:15pmhe shot the wrong democrat!! “Not the subordinates, stupid”
Report Post »OneRepublic4us
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 6:31pmKeep in mind Loughner is a product of the Tucson school system in Arizona. The same school system that is teaching illegal classes about over throwing the US government.
Report Post »JoeBtfsplk
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 6:35pmHe’s playing the crazy card hoping for life.
Report Post »tower7femacamp
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 7:56pmMK Ultra mind control ?
http://www.wanttoknow.info/050626mkultra
A Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) report circulating in the Kremlin today states that the top US Federal Judge for the State of Arizona was assassinated barely 72-hours after he made a critical ruling against the Obama administrations plan to begin the confiscation of their citizen’s private retirement and banking accounts in order to stave off their nations imminent economic collapse, and after having the US Marshals protecting him removed.
According to this SVR report, Federal Judge John McCarthy Roll [photo 2nd left] was the Chief Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Arizona who this past Friday issued what is called a “preliminary ruling” in a case titled “United States of America v. $333,520.00 in United States Currency et al” [Case Number: 4:2010cv00703 Filed: November 30, 2010] wherein he stated he was preparing to rule against Obama’s power to seize American citizens money without clear and convincing evidence of a crime being committed.
The case being ruled on by Judge Roll, this report continues, was about bulk cash smuggling into or out of the United States that the Obama administration claimed was their right to seize under what are called Presidential Executive Orders, instead of using existing laws. The Obama administration used as support for their claim before Judge Roll, the SVR says, the seizing of all American citizens’ gold, in 1933, by Pr
Report Post »MIBUGNU2
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 8:00pmThis is rediculous !! What do you do with a mad dog ??
Put this POS down..If there was only a way to put these
bleeding heart Liberals at the scene, to see this pig
shoot a 9 year old girl and several helpless victims..
THEY say the Death Penalty does no good, B.S.
Would do my Heart a Lot Of Good, and would
Save AZ $$$$$$ in these hard economic times.
Report Post »MIBUGNU2
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 8:19pm@cheezwhiz
“Any comments from the killer’s benefactor, the Sherrif Dipstick ?
The one who is protecting those who recently shot a marine”
Sheriff Dupnik has gone underground, Don’t think he will be re-elected..
Report Post »tower7femacamp
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 8:39pmThe reptilian brain is the most ancient of the brains. It has two hemispheres, just like the neocortex, and it may be that they relate functionally to the left and right hemispheres of the neocortex. The reptilian brain consists of the upper part of the spinal cord and the basal ganglia, the diencephalon, and parts of the midbrain – all of which sits atop the spinal column like a knob in the middle of our heads.
It is thought to represent a fundamental core of the nervous system and derives from a form of mammal-like reptile that once ranged widely over the world but disappeared during the Triassic period having provided the evolutionary link between dinosaurs and mammals. All modern mammals have this reptilian complex, including humans.
(It was the interbreeding or fusing of reptilian DNA to mammal DNA which created the Illuminati reptilian-human hybrid bloodlines and allows the “purest” of this breed to move between human and reptilian form.)
First and foremost among the traits generated through the reptilian brain is the drive to establish and defend territory. This is fueled by an extremely potent “will-to-power”, exemplified among lizards by the ritual behavior of two rainbow lizards competing for dominance. These animals have beautiful colors and like many lizards, use headbobbing and pushups in assertive, aggressive, courtship and greeting displays.
Report Post »http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sumer_anunnaki/reptiles/reptiles14.htm
No1YaKnow
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 9:07pmHe is perfectly competent–he is putting on a show.
Report Post »MIBUGNU2
Posted on May 25, 2011 at 9:26pm@ CatB
“Too bad one of those guys with a concealed carry didn’t take him out forever”.
I’ll bet this Guy thinks about that every day !! I hope it doesn’t get him down, though.
We weren’t there, but I think others had him on the ground by the time the “carry”
came out of the store, but had he gotten up and away, Loughner would have been
shot for sure, but again he may have shot more people in the process..So Thank
God for the Brave People that took Loughner down..and everyone who helped the
injured and wonded… GOD BLESS YOU !!
Report Post »HairOfTheDogSob
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 3:09amSo many idiots in our country..thou shall not kill is wrong translation idiots..thou shall not murder is correct translation…He should be executed…hung by the neck until dead…very inexpensive..and it works..
Report Post »one yrs. food ration like Glenn says..
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 7:18amYes , the “ new ” Charlie Manson , Charlie is about to kick the bucket at around 78 years old and when he goes Loughner will be the replacement…….
Report Post »You know, With all the years of interveiws from CBS and NBC he could be in the limelight for many years to come..
kreese
Posted on May 26, 2011 at 9:58am@ 13th IMAM:
You forgot to mention the “pot” smoking killer!
Report Post »