Suspect in Giffords Shooting Declared Unfit for Trial
U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Gifford’s alleged assailant, Jared Loughner, has been ruled unfit for trial but will be reassessed in four months.
U.S. District Court Judge Larry Burns, ruling Wednesday in Tucson that Loughner does not “have a rational understanding of the proceedings” at this time, sent him to a psychiatric facility and ordered a new hearing for Sept. 21 to reassess his fitness to stand trial.
Loughner exploded with rage and had to be removed from the courtroom.
He allegedly opened fire Jan. 8 at a Tucson meet-the-constituents event hosted by Giffords (D-Ariz.), critically wounding the lawmaker. Six people were killed in the attack.
Giffords, the first Jewish woman elected from her state to a federal office, has been rehabilitating since the shooting and reportedly has made progress.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
