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

[klaasend]

I know it's likely for the best, but I feel bad about this.  Was hoping she could stay on. 

[MuffyBee]

I know it's likely for the best, but I feel bad about this.  Was hoping she could stay on. 

ITA.   

[klaasend]

Awesome video from Gabby's website

[MuffyBee]

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Elections/From-the-Wires/2012/0125/Gabrielle-Giffords-resigns-today-with-standing-ovation
Gabrielle Giffords resigns today with standing ovation
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has resigned from the House, to focus on her recovery, with a standing ovation from her colleagues.
By Donna Cassata, Associated Press
January 25, 2012

[MuffyBee]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/02/10/navy-names-ship-after-gabrielle-giffords/
Navy names ship after Gabrielle Giffords
By Justin Fishel 
February 10, 2012

In a teary-eyed ceremony Friday, the U.S. Navy honored the former congresswoman from Arizona by adding her name to its latest littoral combat ship, USS Gabrielle Giffords.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, his voice cracking, proudly made the announcement in front of a large crowd of Navy officials in the Pentagon courtyard. Friends, family and colleagues of Giffords were also in attendance, including her husband, Mark Kelly, and Roxanna Green, mother of 9-year-old Christina-Taylor Green, who was one of six killed in the same tragic shooting incident that left Giffords badly wounded in January 2011. Mabus announced that Roxanna will be the ship’s “sponsor” and that her initials will be welded into the keel.
 ::snipping2::

[MuffyBee]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-02-17/jared-loughner-trial-psychologist-notes/53135718/1
Prosecutors allowed access to Loughner notes
February 17, 2012

The judge in the Tucson mass shooting case has ruled that prosecutors can have access to notes made by Jared Loughner's prison psychologist over the course of her evaluations of his mental health.
The suspected shooter is undergoing restoration to competency at a federal prison hospital in Springfield, Mo., and his lawyer asked that federal prosecutors be denied access to the psychologist's notes because of self-incriminating statements Loughner made during sessions with psychologist Christina Pietz.

But U.S. District Judge Larry Burns, presiding in San Diego, reasoned in a ruling Thursday that federal law allows the prosecution to view the notes because they have to do with competency, not guilt or innocence. The incriminating statements would not be allowed in trial, he wrote.
 ::snipping2::

[MuffyBee]

http://www.khou.com/news/Giffords-Kelly-attend-San-Luis-Salute-139645043.html
Giffords, Kelly attend San Luis Salute
by T.J. Aulds / The Daily News
February 19, 2012

GALVESTON, Texas — There were plenty of dignitaries at The San Luis Salute Ball at the Galveston Island Convention Center on Friday night, but the big, big ovation went to retired NASA shuttle commander Mark Kelly and his wife, former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle “Gabby” Giffords.

More than a year ago, Giffords was battling for her life after being shot in the head by a gunman while attending a congressional event in Tucson, Ariz.

While the recovery has a way to go, Giffords has been attending more public events.

Kelly and Giffords — along with Kelly’s twin brother, Scott — have been regular fixtures at The San Luis Salute. The ball contributes $100,000 to University of Texas Medical Branch departments each year.
 ::snipping2::

[MuffyBee]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/05/us-loughner-ruling-idUSTRE8241I420120305
Accused Tucson shooter loses appeal over forced
By Dan Levine/SAN FRANCISCO
March 5, 2012

(Reuters) - Prison doctors may continue to forcibly medicate the man charged with the deadly Tucson shooting spree last year that gravely wounded then-Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords as they seek to restore his fitness for trial, a federal appeals court ruled on Monday.

The 2-1 decision by a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower-court ruling that extended Jared Loughner's stay at the federal prison hospital in Springfield, Missouri, and permitted staff there to administer anti-psychotic drugs to him against his will.

"It is clear that Loughner has a severe mental illness, that he represents a danger to himself or others, and that the prescribed medication is appropriate and in his medical interest," Judge Jay Bybee wrote in the appeals court's 117-page majority opinion.

Bybee also said evidence supports the lower-court's finding that there is a "substantial probability that Loughner will be restored to competency in the foreseeable future."
More...

[MuffyBee]

http://ktar.com/6/1529191/Voters-to-pick-from-4-seeking-8th-District-GOP-nod
Voters to pick from 4 seeking 8th District GOP nod
April 17, 2012

[MuffyBee]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57450052/gabby-giffords-attends-campaign-concert-in-tucson/
Gabby Giffords attends campaign concert in Tucson
June 10, 2012

(CBS/AP) TUSCON - Gabrielle Giffords only spoke a few words on Saturday night, but her many supporters who came to a get-out-the-vote rally and concert at the Rialto Theater say that was enough to make their night.

Giffords made an appearance at Ron Barber's campaign concert and thanked her supporters, reports CBS Affiliate KOLD.

It was her first public appearance in Tucson since she stepped down from office in January. Giffords relinquished her seat to concentrate on her recovery from a gunshot wound to the head.

Many supporters couldn't wait to see Giffords and find out about her recovery since the January 8, 2011 shooting.

Jeannine Burton said Giffords holds a very special place in her heart and was a unique congresswoman.

"She really spent the time doing things, like that 'Congresswoman on the corner' events, where she really allowed constituents to come up randomly about things that were going on in their personal lives," said Burton.

Giffords declined a one-on-one interview.

Voters are deciding in Tuesday's special election on whom shall complete the remainder of Giffords' term: a former Giffords aide, the Democrat Barber, who was injured in the January 2011 shooting rampage outside a Tucson grocery store that killed six people, including a 9-year-old girl and a federal judge, and wounded 11 others; or Republican Jesse Kelly, who narrowly lost to Giffords in 2010.

Holding onto the seat is crucial for Democrats seeking to regain control of the House.
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[KittyMom]

I'm curious as to whether the drugs are able to bring Jared Loughner to a sane, reasoning state?  I remember that he doesn't want to take the drugs but do they help make him competent?

[MuffyBee]

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2012/05/22/20120522arizona-jared-oughner-case-hearing-feds.html
Motion suggests Loughner still not mentally fit to stand trial
May 22, 2012

Jared Loughner, the defendant in last year's mass shooting near Tucson, will not likely be coming back to Tucson when his current treatment for restoration to competency ends at the end of the month, suggesting that Loughner is still mentally unable to stand trial.
 ::snipping2::
A report on his progress toward competency was due Thursday, but a joint motion by prosecutors and defense attorneys filed Tuesday asks U.S. District Judge Larry Burns for an order to keep Loughner in Missouri for his "best medical interests."

They also asked for a status hearing June 27, 20 days after his current restoration stint is to end, to discuss his competency.

Under federal law, a defendant can be kept in restoration only for a "reasonable" time. If Loughner cannot be restored to mental competency, he could be committed to a mental institution.

[MuffyBee]

http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/hearing-set-in-tucson-shooting-rampage-case/article_8b45e788-a5bd-11e1-8315-001a4bcf887a.html
Hearing set in Tucson shooting rampage case
May 24, 2012

A judge has set a June 27 hearing to consider whether the Tucson shooting rampage suspect is mentally fit to stand trial.

Jared Lee Loughner is being treated at a Missouri prison facility where he has been forcibly medicated with psychotropic drugs for about 10 months in a bid to make him mentally fit.

His stay in Missouri is set to end June 7, but U.S. District Judge Larry Burns ordered that Loughner will remain there pending further notice.
 ::snipping2::
Burns had ruled in the past that Loughner isn’t ready for trial, but believed Loughner can eventually be made mentally fit.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/18616552/new-competency-hearing-set-for-tucson-shooter
New competency hearing set for Tucson shooter
May 24, 2012

TUCSON, Ariz. -- A federal judge on Thursday scheduled a new competency hearing late next month for Jared Loughner, who allegedly gravely wounded former US Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and killed six in a mass shooting last year.

US District Judge Larry Burns will preside over a hearing June 27 to determine if Loughner's psychiatric treatment has restored him to the legal standard of competency in order to stand trial on 49 charges, including first-degree murder.

Burns originally declared Loughner, a diagnosed schizophrenic, not fit to stand trial in May 2011 and ordered that he be held in federal custody to undergo psychiatric treatment.

Loughner, 23, is currently receiving psychiatric care, including court-approved forced medication, at a federal prison hospital in Missouri.

Burns last declared Loughner incompetent to stand trial in February and ordered him to be held at the federal prison hospital for four more months upon the recommendation of his prison psychologist.

But the psychologist, Christina Pietz, said Loughner had made "measurable progress" and said she believed "his mental state will continue to improve."

Pietz is due to submit another report to Burns Thursday, but it is not expected to be made public.
 ::snipping2::

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kpho.com/story/18690842/loughners-stay-in-mo-to-officially-end-thursday
Loughner's stay in MO to officially end Thursday
June 4, 2012

PHOENIX (AP) -

The Tucson shooting rampage suspect's stay at a Missouri prison facility where he's undergoing psychological treatment is set to officially end Thursday.

It's unknown when 23-year-old Jared Lee Loughner will be moved to Tucson for a June 27 hearing over whether he is mentally fit to stand trial.

U.S. District Judge Larry Burns ordered that Loughner will remain in Missouri pending further notice.
 ::snipping2::
Loughner has spent more than a year at the Missouri facility.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2012/06/04/20120604court-will-not-review-loughner-medication-decision.html
Court will not review Loughner medication decision
June 5, 2012

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday denied a request by lawyers for Jared Loughner, the defendant in last year's mass shooting near Tucson, to reconsider its ruling about forcible medication
 ::snipping2::
Loughner's restoration is scheduled to end Thursday. He has a competency hearing on June 27 in Tucson, but the judge, prosecutors and defense agree Loughner cannot be released from the hospital.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_central_southern_az/tucson/tucson-shooters-rehearing-denied
Jared Lee Loughner's medication hearing denied
June 6, 2012

TUCSON, AZ - The suspect in a January 2011 shooting in Tucson will continue to receive forced medication.

Judges John Wallace and Jay Bybee voted to deny a request by Jared Lee Loughner's attorneys to reconsider a ruling about the medication on Tuesday.
 ::snipping2::
Loughner has been held at a Missouri prison hospital since March 2012, where he's been forcibly medicated with psychotropic drugs to make him mentally fit.

The deadline for the psychologist treating him to submit a report on the efforts to make Loughner mentally fit to stand trial is Thursday, June 7.

[labubske]

I'm curious as to whether the drugs are able to bring Jared Loughner to a sane, reasoning state?  I remember that he doesn't want to take the drugs but do they help make him competent?

I have sat in court hearings for patients with mental illness that are going before the Judge to be released from involuntary commitment and have been surprised to see some released that are clearly not stable.  The Judge bases their ability to function in the community on their baseline.  So what I am getting at is Jared's baseline may be low functioning.  The meds can only do so much.  I personally think he is a very very sick individual and medication may get him better but not at a level that he can participate fully in this trial.  That is just what I know of him through the news and so on.

[MuffyBee]

http://azstarnet.com/news/local/jared-loughner-hearing-pushed-back-to-august/article_7673d478-b440-11e1-b5fe-001a4bcf887a.html
Jared Loughner hearing pushed back to August
June 11, 2012

A status hearing on the competency of the shooter in the Jan. 8, 2011 Tucson rampage has been pushed back until early August.

The trial court judge on the case had set a June 27 hearing in Tucson to consider whether Jared Lee Loughner is mentally fit to stand trial.

But attorneys from both sides said they need more time to prepare and U.S. District Judge Larry Burns rescheduled Loughner’s status hearing to Aug. 7.

Burns also ordered Monday that Loughner will remain in custody at a Missouri prison facility where he’s undergoing treatment.
 ::snipping2::

[MuffyBee]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/12/us-usa-shooting-loughner-idUSBRE85B1IJ20120612
Accused Tucson shooter's competency hearing rescheduled
June 12, 2012

Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday postponed until August 7 a competency hearing for the man accused of killing six people and wounding ex-congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and 12 others in a mass shooting at a public event last year.
 ::snipping2::