Jared Loughner Pleads Guilty to Arizona Shooting - East Idaho News
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Jared Loughner Pleads Guilty to Arizona Shooting

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N 011011 TucsonShooterLoughnerMugshot 2?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1344369764965Pima County Sheriff’s Department(TUCSON, Ariz.) — Jared Lee Loughner entered a guilty plea today for the Jan. 8, 2011 shooting spree at a Tucson, Ariz., supermarket that killed six people and injured 13, including former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

A federal judge ruled that Loughner was competent to stand trial, allowing him to enter the guilty plea.

A psychiatrist who evaluated Loughner testified today that he showed signs of depression as early as 2006. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia and officials at the federal prison have been forcibly medicating him for more than a year. His psychiatrist said the treatment seemed to be helping. Loughner told her he was remorseful for his actions, especially for what he did to the child, referring to 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green who was killed in the shooting spree.

Loughner will now serve a life sentence in prison — prosecutors will not seek the death penalty.

In March 2011, Loughner pleaded not guilty to 49 counts, including six first-degree murder charges, which carried a possible death sentence upon conviction.

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