Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Loughner pleads not guilty
From The Hindu
Donning an orange jumpsuit, wire-rimmed glasses and his now-trademark plastic grin, Jared Lee Loughner (22) pled “not guilty” to charges of attempted murder and attempted assassination, including three counts of attempting to kill federal employees, in a Phoenix courtroom on Monday.
Loughner, who was arrested after killing six people and critically injuring Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in a shooting spree in a crowded marketplace in Tucson, Arizona on January 8, did not speak at all during the proceedings.
According to reports the attempted-assassination count pertained to Ms. Giffords and the attempted-murder charges related to members of her staff who were injured in the attack. Among those killed were federal Judge John Roll and, nine-year old Christina Green, and Giffords staffer Gabriel Zimmerman.
Legal experts were quoted as saying that “a potential line of defence for Loughner would be the argument that he was so mentally troubled at the time of the shootings that he could not be found guilty of a crime.”
In the months leading to the shootings, the authorities had noted, Loughner posted “often bizarre messages on Internet chat sites and had outbursts in classes at a Tucson community college that led school authorities to bar him from school.”
Yet legal experts argued that a defence that based on the claim of insanity could be very difficult to win in court.
During Monday’s proceedings prosecutors said that they would have all the federal charges against Loughner filed within 45 days, including two further murder charges which will revolve around forthcoming indictments.
The next hearing was set for March 9 and the case continues.
Donning an orange jumpsuit, wire-rimmed glasses and his now-trademark plastic grin, Jared Lee Loughner (22) pled “not guilty” to charges of attempted murder and attempted assassination, including three counts of attempting to kill federal employees, in a Phoenix courtroom on Monday.
Loughner, who was arrested after killing six people and critically injuring Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in a shooting spree in a crowded marketplace in Tucson, Arizona on January 8, did not speak at all during the proceedings.
According to reports the attempted-assassination count pertained to Ms. Giffords and the attempted-murder charges related to members of her staff who were injured in the attack. Among those killed were federal Judge John Roll and, nine-year old Christina Green, and Giffords staffer Gabriel Zimmerman.
Legal experts were quoted as saying that “a potential line of defence for Loughner would be the argument that he was so mentally troubled at the time of the shootings that he could not be found guilty of a crime.”
In the months leading to the shootings, the authorities had noted, Loughner posted “often bizarre messages on Internet chat sites and had outbursts in classes at a Tucson community college that led school authorities to bar him from school.”
Yet legal experts argued that a defence that based on the claim of insanity could be very difficult to win in court.
During Monday’s proceedings prosecutors said that they would have all the federal charges against Loughner filed within 45 days, including two further murder charges which will revolve around forthcoming indictments.
The next hearing was set for March 9 and the case continues.
Labels: Jared Lee Loughner, U.S. criminal laws
# posted by Narayan Lakshman @ 7:36 AM 
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