U.S. Marshals Service
Loughner
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- 2:30am — May 21, 2012
independent nonprofit online news
Ruling that “measurable progress” has been made in restoring accused Jan. 8 shooter Jared Loughner to competency, a federal judge said Monday that he should receive four more months of treatment in a prison hospital.... Read more»
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6 comments on this story
Concerning this story, Dylan’s job is getting easier and easier. Since Burns won’t do the right thing and order Loughner’s trial to finally start, all Dylan has to do is copy-and-paste his story from four months prior.
See you all in May, when Burns will undoubtedly order another four months of unnecessary foot-dragging, totally disrespecting Loughner’s victims, their families, and this community.
If the judge tried him now, any verdict could be overturned on appeal based upon his competency. Better to do it right the first time, and cheaper, too.
I disagree.
Let’s take a look at something here. Burns is claiming Lougher is incompetent because apparently Burns feels that Loughner was unable to understand the charges against him, unable to understand the court proceedings, and unable to assist his lawyers. Well, let’s examine the things that the so-called crazy Loughner did understand, shall we?
-He understood that Giffords was holding an event that day
-He understood where it was at and how to get there
-He understood how to obtain a 30-round clip and ammo for his gun, and he understood the right kind to buy (no, you can’t mix and match)
-He understood that he wasn’t coming back from this task, so he left idiotic goodbye notes
-He understood how to drive most of the way there
-He understood how to work that Game and Fish cop that pulled him over on the way to his task.
-He understood how to get a cab
-He understood that he should get the cab driver change so he’d leave peacefully, understanding that if he shot the cab driver first then Giffords would have been hastily escorted from the scene before Loughner had his shot
-He understood to immediately invoke his fifth-amendment rights.
-And, he understood all these things working together to complete his tragic task.
So, if he is/was cognizant enough to understand all of those things, then I’m more-than-confident that he understands the court proceedings, the charges against him, and that he’s able to assist his lawyers.
I say again…Loughner is working the system, and anyone stupid enough to get worked by him has absolutely zero business on the bench.
The fact that Jared was physically able to commit the crime does not mean that he is competent enough to understand the charges against him. This is someone who, although seemingly intelligent, is suffering from schizophrenia. We really don’t know what he saw, heard or thought the morning of the shooting. This is someone who requires medication in order to “be human” - take away the meds and you get January 8th. It takes time to restore competency, something which appears to be completely contingent upon the meds. If he is not medicated, he will never be restored to competency, meaning we will NEVER see a trial. These things take time, to get Jared from psychotic to competent may never happen. Sadly, no matter how much time goes by, January 8th cannot be taken back or undone. I feel the need to reiterate this: I am not trying to “stick up” for a killer, nor am I directing any disrespect toward the victims, or their families. We all want this trial to get started. Hopefully it can in another four months. I don’t see how more treatment for Loughner is a bad thing. More medication = four more months, according to the court. Justice will just have to wait, and given the circumstances of the tragedy, I’m not really even sure what “justice” would look like. The whole thing is dark.
@justsayin
Well, which one is it? You can’t have it both ways…
Please understand that I by no means think Loughner is innocent. I want nothing more than for him to face the consequences due to him. I simply disagree that the trial ought to be rushed simply to ease the pain of injustice. I am all for Loughner being medicated, even if it means four more months. If it is brought to trial now, it would most likely get thrown out on the basis of him being mentally unfit. I say this because he was, yet again, deemed mentally unfit to stand trial as of a few days ago. He would be able to play the insane card, as you put it, much easier if he went to trial now, don’t you think? Get him “mentally fit” - whatever that may mean for him - and then put him on trial. I agree that his case has been tied up for a long time, but I see that as more of an indicator of the depths of his mental illness; not some conspiracy theory or him “working the system”. @Bret Linden