Ariz. Rep. Giffords in serious condition after Tucson shooting; eight others inj

[MuffyBee]

http://www.jewishpress.com/news/politics/rep-giffords-aide-wins-her-seat-in-special-election/2012/06/13/
Rep. Giffords’ Aide Wins her Seat in Special Election
June 13, 2012

on Barber, a former aide to U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, won her seat in a special election.

Barber, who decided to run after Giffords formerly resigned her seat earlier this year to recover from a shooting in January 2011, defeated Jesse Kelly, a Republican who suffered a narrow defeat to Giffords in the 2010 election for the swing district in Arizona.
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[MuffyBee]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-loughner-guilty-plea-20120804,0,4006905.story
Jared Loughner to plead guilty in Tucson shooting, sources say
Mental health officials reportedly believe he is now competent to understand the charges in the killing of six people and wounding of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 12 others in Tucson last year.
August 4, 2012


WASHINGTON — Jared Lee Loughner is set to plead guilty Tuesday in the shooting attack that severely wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, according to knowledgeable sources, as mental health officials believe he is now competent to understand the charges against him in the assault, which killed six people and injured 13 at a gathering with the congresswoman’s constituents in Tucson.

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.
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[MuffyBee]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CONGRESSWOMAN_SHOT_SUSPECT?SITE=KVUE&SECTION=DEFAULT&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT.html
AP source: Loughner would get life in shooting
August 4, 2012

PHOENIX (AP) -- A possible plea deal in the deadly Tucson shootings that wounded then-U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords would send Jared Lee Loughner to prison for the rest of his life, a person familiar with the case said Saturday.
A court-appointed psychiatrist will testify Tuesday that Loughner is competent to enter a plea in the shooting rampage that killed six people and injured 13, including Giffords, said the person, who was not authorized to discuss the case publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
A status conference in the federal case had already been scheduled for Tuesday in Tucson.
The person, speaking about upcoming events in the case, said the plan is for Loughner to enter a guilty plea in the murders and attempted murders. The plan is contingent on the judge in the case allowing Loughner to enter the plea.
The Los Angeles Times reported earlier Saturday that Loughner was set to change his plea.
The Pima County attorney's office, which has said it could also pursue state prosecution of Loughner, declined to comment, said spokeswoman Isabel Burruel Smutzer.
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[MuffyBee]

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/04/13123082-jared-lee-loughner-wants-to-plead-guilty-in-gabrielle-giffords-attack-sources-say?lite
Jared Lee Loughner wants to plead guilty in Gabrielle Giffords attack, sources say
August 5, 2012

Video at Link

[MuffyBee]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57488383/accused-tucson-shooter-mentally-fit-pleads-guilty/
Accused Tucson shooter mentally fit, pleads guilty
August 7, 2012

(CBS/AP) TUCSON, Ariz. - Jared Lee Loughner pleaded guilty Tuesday to going on a shooting rampage at a political gathering, killing six people and wounding his intended target, then-Congresswoman Gabriele Giffords, and 12 others.

Loughner's plea spares him the death penalty and came soon after a federal judge found that months of forcibly medicating him to treat his schizophrenia had made the 23-year-old college dropout competent to understand the gravity of the charges and assist in his defense.

Under the plea, he will be sentenced to life in federal prison without the possibility of parole.

The outcome was welcomed by some victims, including Giffords herself, as a way to avoid a lengthy, possibly traumatic trial and years of legal wrangling over a death sentence.
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[MuffyBee]

http://www.myfoxaustin.com/story/19252301/loughner-returned-to-missouri-until-sentencing
Loughner returned to Missouri until sentencing
August 10, 2012

PHOENIX (AP) - The man who pleaded guilty in the Arizona mass shooting that wounded former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has returned to the Missouri federal prison where he is being treated for a mental illness.

U.S. Marshals Service spokesman Chris DeRosa says Jared Lee Loughner left Tucson on Friday and is at the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Mo.

DeRosa says he will remain there until his sentencing Nov. 15.
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[MuffyBee]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/giffords-moving-back-to-tucson-after-spending-year-and-half-in-texas-undergoing-therapy/2012/08/12/d4966ab6-e4e7-11e1-9739-eef99c5fb285_story.html
Gabrielle Giffords, husband moving back to Tucson
August 12, 2012

TUCSON, Ariz. — Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband are moving back to Tucson on Sunday, a year and a half after she moved to Houston to undergo intensive physical and speech therapy after she was wounded by a gunman at an event outside a grocery store.

Giffords’ husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, told the Arizona Daily Star (http://bit.ly/NqMY9P) that his wife will continue therapy in Tucson but says it’s not going to be the six to eight hours per day she’d been doing in Houston.
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[MuffyBee]

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2012/09/space-shuttle-endeavour-gabrielle-giffords-mark-kelly-watch-shuttle-fly-over-tucson/
Space Shuttle Endeavour: Gabrielle Giffords, Mark Kelly Watch It Fly Over Tucson
September 20, 2012

The space shuttle Endeavour arrived in California today after taking a detour over Tucson as former astronaut Mark Kelly and wife, former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, watched from a rooftop at the University of Arizona.

“That’s my spaceship,” said Kelly, Endeavour’s last commander, according to The Associated Press.

Kelly asked Wednesday that Endeavour make a detour and fly over Tucson, so that Giffords could see it one last time.

The last-minute suggestion was a bit of a surprise to NASA, but it put out a statement saying it would honor Kelly’s request.

“As part of the delivery of Endeavour to Los Angeles, Endeavour will be flown over the city of Tucson,” said the agency.  “NASA decided to honor that request to pay our respects to a long-time agency supporter in former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and Kelly, who commanded Endeavour’s final mission, STS-134. The flight over Tucson will add no additional time or cost to the delivery of Endeavour.”
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[MuffyBee]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/11/08/loughner-sentencing-tucson-shooting-giffords/1691239/
Loughner to be sentenced in Tucson mass shooting
Jared Loughner, who pleaded guilty in the shooting that left six people dead and wounded former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 12 others, will be sentenced today in Arizona.
November 8, 2012

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On Thursday, Loughner, now 24, will be sentenced in U.S. District Court in Tucson. Under terms of the plea agreement hammered out by prosecutors and defense attorneys in August, Loughner will spend the rest of his life in prison, and given his fragile mental state, most likely in a federal prison psychiatric ward.

Neither prosecutors nor defense attorneys are forthcoming with the details of the hearing, nor with the case in general.

Sentencing hearings usually provide a chance for victims to speak, and Giffords and her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, are expected to attend. Kelly is expected to address the court on her behalf.

Loughner and his parents and friends will also have a chance to address the court.

Afterward, John Leonardo, U.S. attorney for the District of Arizona, has indicated he and some of the victims of the shooting will hold a news conference.

Earlier this year in federal court, Loughner pleaded guilty to two counts of murder of a federal employee and four counts of causing the death of a person at a federally sponsored event.
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Thursday's sentencing brings the federal case to a close.

However, Loughner could still be tried for murder and other crimes in Arizona state court. Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall has not yet said whether she will exercise that option.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57547155/giffords-faces-loughner-as-husband-lauds-her-spirit/
Giffords faces Loughner as husband lauds her "spirit"
November 8, 2012

[MuffyBee]

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/11/08/7-life-sentences-for-giffords-shooter/
7 Life sentences for Giffords' shooter
November 8, 2012

The confessed gunman in the January 2011 mass shooting here that left 6 dead and 13 wounded, incluiding then-Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, was sentenced to seven life terms plus 140 years in prison without possibility of parole.

The sentence imposed on Jared Lee Loughner, presiding Judge Larry Burns said, has a "symbolic character," since it is intended to reflect the damage caused to all the victims of the massacre.

Loughner pleaded guilty in August in exchange for prosecutors' agreement not to seek the death penalty.

Each of the life sentences corresponds to one of the fatalities in the shooting as well as for the assassination attempt on Giffords, who was Loughner's target on Jan. 8, 2011.
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Diagnosed with schizophrenia in the wake of his arrest, Loughner was declared fit to stand trial after being forcibly medicated.

[MuffyBee]

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/27/17488529-loughners-parents-hid-shotgun-from-him-slew-of-new-documents-show?lite
Loughner's parents hid shotgun from him, slew of new documents show
March 27, 2013

Jared Loughner hadn't been the same since he got fired from a job at a mall in Tucson, his parents said. He had been expelled from college. After a visit from campus police, his parents decided to hide a shotgun that Loughner owned in the trunk of their car in the garage so he didn't have access to it in the house.
A slew of details about Loughner, 24 -- who has pleaded guilty to killing six people and wounding former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and a dozen others in a Jan. 8, 2011, shooting spree in Tucson -- emerged as authorities investigating the rampage released more than 2,700 pages of documents that they have compiled.
Among the thousands of interviews, police reports and survivors' statements released Wednesday, one theme was constant about Loughner, who has since been diagnosed with schizophrenia: As his father, Randy Loughner, told investigators at the time, he "just doesn't seem right lately."
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[MuffyBee]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/27/gabby-giffords-shooting-records/2024589/
Ariz. sheriff releases records from Giffords' shooting
March 27, 2013

Judge had withheld reports in the investigation from the public for 2 years.

More...

[MuffyBee]

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2013/0327/Gabrielle-Giffords-shooting-newly-released-records-portray-killer-as-lost
Gabrielle Giffords shooting: newly released records portray killer as 'lost'
March 27, 2013

Some official documents about the shooting of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords by Jared Loughner were kept sealed so as not jeopardize a fair trial. They show that many close to Loughner were disturbed by his behavior before the attack.
More...

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http://www.myfoxhouston.com/story/29311632/navy-ship-christened-for-giffords-wounded-in-2011-shooting
Navy ship christened for Giffords, wounded in 2011 shooting
June 13, 2015

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) - Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle "Gabby" Giffords of Arizona had a Navy vessel named in her honor during a ceremony at a Mobile, Alabama, shipyard Saturday afternoon.

Giffords joined others including Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, as the USS Gabrielle Giffords was christened in coastal Alabama. The 419-foot ship was built at the Austal shipyard and is the Navy's 10th littoral combat ship designed to operate in shallow waters near the coast.

Giffords was badly wounded in a 2011 shooting that left six dead and 13 injured in Tucson. The Democrat left Congress and later founded an organization that supports gun control.