Posted Aug 4, 2012, 5:40 pm
Accused Jan. 8 gunman Jared Lee Loughner will plead guilty at a Tuesday court hearing in Tucson according to a report by the Los Angeles Times that cites anonymous sources familiar with the case.
Loughner, now 23, is accused of killing six, including a nine-year-old girl, and shooting U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in the head in what authorities charge was an assassination attempt.
He also is charged with wounding 12 others at the "Congress On Your Corner" meet and greet with constituents at a Northwest Side grocery store on the morning of Jan. 8, 2011.
From the LA Times' report Saturday evening:
At the hearing Tuesday morning in U.S. District Court in Tucson, psychiatric experts who have examined Loughner, 23, are scheduled to testify that they have concluded that despite wide swings in his mental capacity, at this time he comprehends what happened and acknowledges the gravity of the charges, according to two sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case was still unfolding.
The terms of the plea arrangement remained unclear Saturday on whether Loughner would admit guilt to all or some of the charges in return for a lengthy prison sentence rather than risk a potential death penalty verdict at trial.
Loughner was charged with 49 federal counts in the attack. Not guilty pleas were entered on his behalf by the court.
Fourteen of the charges Loughner faces could result in the death penalty.
In May 2011, Loughner was found incompetent to stand trial, and he was was sent to a federal facility in Missouri for treatment to restore his ability to understand the charges against him and participate in his defense.
Prison doctors have said he suffers from schizophrenia, but that he could be restored to competency for trial.
Loughner still faces the possibility of state charges in the attack.
1 comment on this story
Great…so instead of doing the right thing, which is would have been to try him straight away, we spent a year and a half drugging him into submission.
How exactly is justice being served here again?