Tucson Area Shooting After the shooting outside the supermarket near Tucson, Jared Loughner’s sanity was being questioned. This took place at an event that was being held by then-congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford for her constituents. During the shooting six people lost their lives, including a nine year old, and twelve people were hurt beside Gifford. For this action, Loughner who was 23 at the time was charged with forty-nine felonies. During his trial there were questions about his competency/ incompetency to stand trial. This was due to his previous signs of mental illness. Loughner’s mental issues made the U.S District Judge Larry Burn send him to psychological evaluations in early March 2011. This was at the request of the prosecutors, …show more content…
His court documents said that he was diagnosed as schizophrenic. Therefore, it was necessary for him to return back to Missouri in order to get the help he needed. Loughner’s diagnosis as a schizophrenic didn’t come as a surprise based on his previous signs of depression. Records showed that he had signs of depression since 2006, and maybe developed symptoms of schizophrenia in his junior year of high school. His parents/friends were also worried that he would commit suicide because of his depression and put him under suicide watch. In one of the YouTube videos, Loughner’s friend said that he called him once and left a voicemail saying goodbye. Loughner said, “Hey Hey, it’s Jared, I just want to tell you good times peace out, later.” Peace out can be translated to goodbye; therefore, not only was he harmful to others, he was also a danger to …show more content…
Even though Loughner wasn’t fully competent, they had to proceed the case, because the Government could drop the charges if Loughner was still incompetent. Loughner wasn’t fully competent; however, he was doing much well than his first hearing after receiving the treatment he needed. Based on evidence and professional opinion of experts, U.S District Judge Burn found Loughner mentally competent to stand his trial. He said, “My personal observation of him leave no questions in my mind that loughner knows what is going on today”. His decision was based on Loughner’s behavior in court and also on Christina Pietz who believed that Loughner was competent to stand trial. This was after he spent months in a prison Psychiatric hospital in Missouri, which helped him restore his