Loughner’s Lawyers Seem to Search His Family Tree for Mental Illness

[alp227]

Source: The New York Times

PHOENIX — Jared L. Loughner’s grandparents and great-grandparents died years ago, but lawyers defending Mr. Loughner in connection with a Jan. 8 shooting spree outside Tucson are delving into their lives and those of numerous other Loughner ancestors in an apparent effort to show that mental illness runs in the family.

A raft of subpoenas that Reuben C. Cahn, one of Mr. Loughner’s lawyers, issued last month, and then later withdrew, indicate that the defense is researching the backgrounds of many of the defendant’s relatives from Illinois, all on his mother’s side.

In May, Mr. Loughner was found mentally incompetent to stand trial on charges that he murdered six people and tried to kill 13 others at a constituent event for Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head. A Federal District Court judge, Larry A. Burns, scheduled a hearing for Sept. 21 to determine whether Mr. Loughner, who is being held at a federal psychiatric facility in Springfield, Mo., has improved enough by then to understand the 49 federal charges against him and assist in his defense.

The prosecution has described how Mr. Loughner has thrown chairs and spat at one of his defense lawyers while in custody. He has had such difficulty sleeping that he has been awake for as many as 50 hours at a time, according to court records, which also describe him as being on suicide watch and as pacing back and forth in his cell so much his legs have swelled.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/17/us/17loughner.html

[jwirr]

1. I read the whole article and his mother's family sounds like the

genealogy of my own family - we can trace 6 generations of bipolar. Many of them were called other names - manic depressive, depressive, crazy, schizophrenic, eccentric, etc. Interesting read.

[hlthe2b]

2. this is going to be one hell of a rough ride for his family...

Not that I am not likewise questioning whether or not they had some culpability in not interceding to get him treatment--that remains to be seen, I guess. But, they are going to be under an incredible microscope and from what has been reported, they were already pretty averse to any public attention to begin with.

I just hope he doesn't end up in a mental hospital for a mere few years and then released on the technicality that he can not be competent for trial. :shrug:

[udbcrzy2]

3. When defense attorneys don't have a valid defense

When defense attorneys don't have a valid defense they try for everything. I've even seen them try to blame the victim for their own murder, trying to make the defendant the victim. The real victim cannot testify either.

It's very scary to think that if he is found to be mentally incompetent that he could just walk, but he certainly could.

[saras]

4. If they're planning on locking up all the crazy relatives, I'll take this seriously...

otherwise it appears to be more theater.

[truthrocks]

5. “We don’t understand why this happened.”

The only statement issued by Loughner's parents.

Parents get repeated warnings by the school of his bizarre behavior, scaring other students. Finally, parents informed by security and the administration that he is banned from coming on campus until he gets psych evaluation and treatment.

“We don’t understand why this happened.”

[AtheistCrusader]

7. Adult or not, he was their dependent.

They had every opportunity to commit him. They had every opportunity not to allow him to purchase a $600+ firearm. He didn't even have a job. He was living entirely off them.

If he's incompetent, fine, but how incompetent are his parents?

[udbcrzy2]

6. Claiming he has echolalia (form of tourettes)

I read at the end of the article:
'Mr. Loughner’s lawyers have also urged the court to order the videotaping of Mr. Loughner’s interviews with prison psychologists. They say he suffers from echolalia, a condition the defense wishes to monitor, which makes him repeat whatever is said to him.'

That's a form of Tourettes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echolalia



wanted to add:
My ex-husband does the same thing when he's thinking of what lie to tell next...

[gratuitous]

8. I want Mr. Loughner to avail himself of every defense he and his lawyers can think of

I want him to benefit from every scrap of the rules of procedure, local rules, code of evidence, and everything else available to him. If he goes to trial, I want the prosecution's case to be not just water tight, but air tight. I want to be sure that he is convicted beyond a reasonable doubt, and even better, beyond any doubt whatsoever. And if it turns out he's crazier than a shithouse rat, a mortal danger to himself or others (especially others), I want him locked up and treated.

Of course, I want the same thing for anyone accused of a crime, no matter how petty or serious, how loved they are in their community or how hated, because when we take a shortcut through the justice system to assassinate or put someone away whom "everybody knows" to be guilty, there's a chance the same thing could happen to me. Due process for Don Siegelman as well as for Casey Anthony or Osama bin Laden.