“I plead guilty.”
Jared Lee Loughner repeated those words, quietly, slowly and without emotion, more than a dozen times in a Tucson courthouse today as federal Judge Larry Burns read the 19 charges Loughner was admitting to as part of a plea agreement that would spare him the death penalty in relation his shooting rampage on Jan. 8, 2011.
Loughner now faces seven life terms and 140 additional years in federal prison as a result of the rampage, which claimed six lives and left 13 more wounded at former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ Congress On Your Corner event. He will be sentenced on Nov. 15.
The 19 charges—down from the 49 he was facing in his original federal indictment—include charges related to all of the 19 people who were shot, as well as bystanders who were put in harm’s way.
Loughner pled guilty to killing federal Judge John Roll, Giffords aide Gabe Zimmerman, 9-year-old Christina-Taylor Green, and retirees Dorothy Morris, Dorwin Stoddard and Phyllis Schneck.
He also pled guilty to attempting to assassinate Giffords; attempting to kill former Giffords aides Ron Barber and Pam Simon; and wounding Bill Badger, Mavy Stoddard, James Fuller, Susie Hilelman, Kenneth Dorushka, Randy Gardner, Kenneth Veeder, Mary Reed, George Morris and James Tucker.
In addition to life in prison, Loughner must forfeit any money he might make from interviews or other media appearances to pay off $19 million in fines, which reflects the 19 people who were shot.
The guilty pleas came after prison psychologist Christina Pietz testified that while Loughner was among the most severely mentally ill inmates she had worked with, he was now competent to stand trial. He had been undergoing treatment, including involuntarily taking medication, for his psychotic condition at a Missouri federal psychiatric prison unit.
Burns agreed with her assessment, noting the Loughner seems alert throughout today’s court proceedings. Loughner, with his hair cut short and wearing prison khakis, sat next to defense attorney Judy Clarke, his face betraying little emotion as Pietz testified about his recent months of treatment.
Pietz testified that Loughner still has trouble believing that Giffords survived being shot through the head and has expressed a sense of failure that he did not kill her.
She said that he told her, speaking in third person: “If this is true, Jared is a failure.”
Pietz said Loughner was also resigned to remaining behind bars for the rest of his life.
Loughner has been participating in some group therapy sessions, although he remains in a separate cell during the sessions. Pietz testified that during one session, the group leader asked them what they would do if they got out of prison.
Loughner replied: “I’m not going to ever get out.”
Pietz later testified that Loughner told her he was aware that he would never be out from behind bars: “I’m 23 years old. This is it. This is my life.”
She said that when she asked him if he plans to harm himself or try to commit suicide behind bars, he responded: “I’m not going to answer that.”
Barber, who was shot twice during the rampage and later won a June special election to complete Giffords’ term after she stepped down to focus on her recovery, released a statement after the shooting.
“My hope is that what happened today in court can help all of us move forward and continue our healing process,” Barber said. “I believe justice was done today. It is important to me that this individual never again is in a position in which he can cause harm to anyone else. I am hopeful that this will be the result of today’s agreement when the sentencing hearing is held.”
Earlier in the day, Giffords’ husband, Mark Kelly, told the Wall Street Journal that Giffords was satisfied with the plea agreement.
“We don’t speak for all of the victims or their families, but Gabby and I are satisfied with this plea agreement,” Kelly said. “The pain and loss caused by the events of January 8, 2011 are incalculable. Avoiding a trial will allow us—and we hope the whole Southern Arizona community—to continue with our recovery and move forward with our lives.”
This article appears in Aug 2-8, 2012.
As a friend of mine wrote today:
“I see where that piece of human garbage, Jared Loughner, got a plea deal, coming after a federal judge ruled that he was competent to stand trial, means he will not get the death penalty. He now faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.
WHAT?
You mean they didn’t have enough evidence to take him to trial, find him guilty and fry his ass? Such BS
Now we, the taxpayer, have to support this scumbag while he becomes a jailhouse celebrity like Charles Manson!”
Check this out and see if it doesn’t ‘anger’ you just a litlle like it does me:
“Prisons cost taxpayers more than $32 billion a year. Every year that an inmate spends in prison costs $22,000. An individual sentenced to five years for a $300 theft costs the public more than $100,000. The cost of a life term averages $1.5 million.
States are spending more money on prisons than education. Over the course of the last 20 years, the amount of money spent on prisons was increased by 570% while that spent on elementary and secondary education was increased by only 33%. “
Source(s):http://www.heartsandminds.org/prisons/fact…
It would be way cool if the prosecutor told him, “…oops, just kidding!” and went ahead and executed his dumb ass!
I whole heartedly agree!
Who among us would wish death on another human? Looks like Loughner, tucsonborn & tucsonborn’s Facebook friend would.
Tucsonborn and his friend are obviously completely ignorant of schizophrenia and mental illness (perhaps Tucsonborn and his friend would agree with Adolf Hitler’s policy of executing all mentally ill people). Also Tucsonborn and his friend are obviously unaware that it is much more expensive for the state to give out a death sentence than a life sentence (because of all the legal fees connected with appeals in death sentence cases). What this particular sick individual, Loughner, did was terrible and hopefully he will continue to receive the psychiatric care his condition requires (there is no magical cure for schizophrenia) in a secure unit where he can be protected from harming others again. That is the right and proper and humane way to deal with this sad situation, and not the shocking barbarism put forward by people such as tucsonborn and his friend.
Jim, thanks for naming each one of the victims here. So often news reports mention Gabrielle Giffords and no one else. It’s so important to remember everyone who was injured or killed that day, and naming them gives a measure of respect for their suffering and for the loss we suffered as a community.
I do not wish death on people, but I think some people EARN thier own death by thier actions. This is true case of people not want to go to trial because thier afriad people will feel sorry for Jared loughner and not convict him because he has severe mental illness.
So they made a plea deal, I am disgusted with this deal because he earned his death, as a person with bi-polar disorder I am offended by the idea that I should have less responablities for my actions than some one else.
What ever happened to equal under the law, I want to be treated the same as every one else, it’s only just and fair.
If you kill you have killed, being mentally ill should not be a pass from facing consqeunces of multiple murder.
This why we have serial killers sitting in prison right now, but we will kill “sane” people for killing one or two people that is CRAZY.
If the concern is tax payer dollars, an execution costs about $10 million dollars (appeals, numerous trials, etc). Keeping him locked up for life will cost less than executing him. He may be “competent” to stand trial, but it is obvious that he was not sane when he committed these acts. This man is not getting a ‘pass’ from responsibility- hence he will spend the rest of his life in a box. Executing an insane man is inhumane. Let us be better than him. And, for the greater good, think of how much we can learn from this man in terms of mental health treatment and preventing someone else from this kind of act.
Jared was a nice guy until he lost his way. He had no history of violence towards anyone thus shouldn’t be considered a danger to others. He was mentally ill, that doesn’t in the slightest make him evil. He is not by nature an ‘evil’ person; what he did was awful, but it was a direct result of his sever illness. The picture of him bald headed and smiling isn’t the real Jared Lee Loughner. If you look at other photos of him he looks like a nice enough, normal guy. America and the system failed to pick up on his mental illness, failed to treat him, he developed an obsession with Giffords because he failed to answer one of his questions in a previous meet and greet she’d held in 2007. He was severely ILL, no one helped Jared, and that lack of care resulted in those deaths. Everyone blames Loughner dismissing him as some evil loon but if you read the facts of the story and testimonies from those who knew him he was simply a nice, normal guy until he lost his way and became ill. Loughner is a victim as well in all this. Such a tragic story.
it costs more to give the death penalty than life in prison because of all the appeals, the lawyers, etc. a lot of people want revenge but ask all those involved. most don’t want to live the rest of their lives with this guy on death row appealing. and if he ever gets into the general population, they’ll kill him. he killed a child which is a huge no-no with cons. so let him out someday for a little sun and fun with the guys.
DT – he expressed dissapointment that he didn’t kill Gabby while supposedly competent this means that he IS evil. So she didn’t fully answer his question boo hoo that is life. He is a victim as well? Hardly he may have been failed by all of YOU that knew him and did nothing or abandoned him as he slid into mental illness but to call him a victim too is revolting. I too believe that there should be more treatment and help for those that are having mental problems but to minimize what he did makes me sick. My heart bleeds but NOT for him he is a monster and I nor society is responsible but I think you accusing us of ‘dismissing’ him as an evil loon is more about you trying to assuage your own guilt over the matter by finding us at fault somehow.
If you do not know him DT then you have no business testifying as to who he is, was or wasn’t before he became the monster that I believe he still is all due to his actions and not by something I read in the paper