Filed under: News
Jared Loughner (pictured), 22, entered court with his wrists chained to his waist and was closely watched by a squadron of eight U.S. marshals.
Giffords has made remarkable progress in her recovery from a point-blank shot to her forehead.
The AP writes:
Loughner's hearing Monday did not offer any indication of a defense strategy. His attorney, Judy Clarke, said she wasn't raising issues of competency "at this time" after the judge asked whether there was any question about her client's ability to understand the case against him.
If Clarke uses mental competency questions as a defense and is successful, Loughner could be sent to a mental health facility instead of being sentenced to prison or death. The federal murder charges Loughner faces carry a potential death penalty, which require a painstaking process under Justice Department rules.
This entire process sickens me. It's not just the horrendous nature of Loughner's crimes but the dance we keep going through in this country as mass shootings become a way of life.
Usually, the gunman has killed himself or been shot dead by authorities. In this case, Loughner was tackled and taken in alive.
Even if Loughner is convicted and faces the death penalty that will do nothing to stop the next mass killing. We refuse to take the simple step of addressing our gun laws.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has called for better enforcement of the gun laws we already have on the books.
The New York Daily News writes:
Specifically, the mayor said the list of names checked before gun purchases needs to be complete. It must include all felony convicts, and people with histories of domestic violence, drug abuse and mental illness - all of whom have been prohibited from buying guns since the 1968 law.
Bloomberg said that 10 states don't even contribute names of people with mental illness to the list, while the entire database has little more than 2,000 names of drug abusers. Bloomberg also called for background checks to be conducted before every gun purchase, sales online sales and at gun shows. Many such sales are now exempt from background checks.
"If we are going to prevent guns from falling into the hands of violent criminals, the mentally unstable and other already prohibited dangerous persons, we need a comprehensive national background check system with no loopholes," Bloomberg said.
"The state of our union includes the tragic reality that 34 Americans are murdered with guns every single day and most of them are purchased or possessed illegally," Bloomberg added.