The federal prison hospital in Missouri where Jared Loughner underwent five weeks of mental evaluation will now try to make him mentally fit for trial.
A federal judge iIn Tucson on Wednesday ruled the suspect in the Jan. 8 mass shooting in Tucson is too mentally ill to assist in his own defense against charges he killed six people and injured 13 others.
The motorcade carrying Loughner arrived at federal court in downtown Wednesday morning amid heavy security.
The hearing lasted less than two hours and was interrupted by an outburst from Loughner.
Some wondered if the outburst affected the ruling. Was it Loughner's plan?
Judge Larry Burns said Loughner was tested to see whether he is faking, and said the conclusion was that he was not.
Burns said the two court-appointed mental health professionals who assessed Loughner's competence looked into his past, and concluded that Loughner had been descending into mental illness for up to three years before the shootings.
The judge also said he personally watched the two dozen or so hours of videotape of Loughner's mental health assessment.
The outburst came before Burns could start the portion of the trial dealing with competency, and was the most dramatic moment of any of the proceedings.
Loughner was sitting next to his attorneys, hands and feet shackled, as usual. He put his head in his hands, then came the outburst.
An attorney representing news media outlets in the courtroom saw what happened.
Outside the courtroom, David Bodney said, "I don't know. I'd be speculating precisely about what he said. I'm not certain but there appeared to be some sort of reference to one of his victims."
I was sitting directly behind Loughner.
I heard him say, "Thank you for the freak show."
A federal judge iIn Tucson on Wednesday ruled the suspect in the Jan. 8 mass shooting in Tucson is too mentally ill to assist in his own defense against charges he killed six people and injured 13 others.
The motorcade carrying Loughner arrived at federal court in downtown Wednesday morning amid heavy security.
The hearing lasted less than two hours and was interrupted by an outburst from Loughner.
Some wondered if the outburst affected the ruling. Was it Loughner's plan?
Judge Larry Burns said Loughner was tested to see whether he is faking, and said the conclusion was that he was not.
Burns said the two court-appointed mental health professionals who assessed Loughner's competence looked into his past, and concluded that Loughner had been descending into mental illness for up to three years before the shootings.
The judge also said he personally watched the two dozen or so hours of videotape of Loughner's mental health assessment.
The outburst came before Burns could start the portion of the trial dealing with competency, and was the most dramatic moment of any of the proceedings.
Loughner was sitting next to his attorneys, hands and feet shackled, as usual. He put his head in his hands, then came the outburst.
An attorney representing news media outlets in the courtroom saw what happened.
Outside the courtroom, David Bodney said, "I don't know. I'd be speculating precisely about what he said. I'm not certain but there appeared to be some sort of reference to one of his victims."
I was sitting directly behind Loughner.
I heard him say, "Thank you for the freak show."
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