Jared Lee Loughner to face federal charges first

[PBS Poll-435]

By Carol J. Williams, Times Staff Writer
February 5, 2011
The Los Angeles Times

Tucson shooting suspect Jared Lee Loughner will be tried first in federal court in the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and two staff members before he faces prosecution for most of the six deaths and 13 injuries inflicted during the rampage, authorities in Arizona said Friday.

Loughner, 22, faces one charge of attempted assassination and two of attempted murder and will likely face additional indictments in the death of a federal judge and another federal employee, charges that could carry the death penalty, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Arizona said. But state prosecution of Loughner must wait until the federal cases are complete.

Loughner was arrested at the scene of the deadly Jan. 8 attack outside a Tucson supermarket where Giffords had been meeting with constituents. He was indicted last month on only the three attempted-murder charges so that prosecutors could meet a 30-day deadline for indicting or releasing a suspect, said Robbie Sherwood of the U.S. attorney's office in Phoenix.

Among those killed in the Tucson attack were the head of Arizona's federal judiciary, U.S. District Judge John M. Roll, and Giffords aide Gabriel Zimmerman, both government employees whose deaths can result in capital charges if they were killed while "engaged in or on account of the performance of official duties."


more at http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-loughner-prosecution-20110205,0,4205889.story

[blondeatlast]

1. "...attempted assassination..." GOOD. k/r/nt

[malaise]

2. He will never leave prison alive

Fugg him.

[elocs]

3. He may never leave the mental hospital. If he is mentally ill, which seems likely,

is it still fugg him?

[PBS Poll-435]

4. He is innocent until proven otherwise, but personally I am looking forward to his life sentence(s)

:shrug:

[Little Star]

5. Good!