By Donna Leinwand Lege
USA Today
TUCSON, Ariz. — Jared Loughner, the community college dropout accused of killing six people and wounding 13 others, including Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, erupted in a Tucson courtroom Wednesday as a federal judge found him incompetent to stand trial.
“Thanks for the freak show! She died in front of me! This is treasonous!” Loughner yelled.
U.S. Marshals dragged him from the courtroom as his father and victims watched.
Loughner, 22, will receive treatment in a secure federal mental health facility for up to four months before doctors evaluate him again. To be considered competent, he must be able to understand the 49 federal charges against him and assist his lawyers in his legal defense.
U.S. District Judge Larry Burns will reconsider Loughner’s competency at a hearing Sept. 21.
Two court-ordered evaluations at a federal prison hospital in Springfield, Mo., concluded Loughner has schizophrenia and is not mentally fit for trial. The evaluations did not attempt to determine whether he was sane at the time of the Jan. 8 shooting.
There are indications that Loughner is not following his attorneys’ instructions. Loughner has written two letters to the judge without informing his attorneys, court papers show. Burns forwarded the letters to the attorneys on May 10.
The symptoms of schizophrenia can “interfere with his ability to rationally appreciate his legal situation,” said Steven Gaskell, a forensic psychologist in Chicago who is not involved in the case.
Loughner may have hallucinations, delusions and disorganized thinking, Gaskell said. Medicines may be able to control the symptoms, but they typically take three to six months to take full effect, he said.
Doctors at the Missouri prison hospital will ask Loughner to take medicines that could stabilize his condition, said Robbie Sherwood, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney. If Loughner doesn’t agree, Burns could order him to take the medicines. “We believe he can be restored to competency with the proper medication,” Sherwood said.
If doctors can restore his mental health, the judge may find him competent to stand trial. If not, prosecutors can seek to have Loughner committed to a mental health facility indefinitely.
Loughner is charged with shooting into a crowd of people who had gathered at a Tucson supermarket for a community event with Giffords. Among those killed were a federal judge, a 9-year-old girl and a Giffords staffer. Loughner has pleaded not guilty.
Several survivors of the rampage attended the hearing Wednesday, including Giffords’ aide Pam Simon, who was shot in the chest and wrist; retired Army colonel Bill Badger, who helped subdue Loughner; and Eric Fuller, who was shot in the knee and back.
If Loughner spends the rest of his life in a mental hospital instead of prison, it wouldn’t bother him, Fuller said.
“You don’t have to be a psychiatrist to know that the boy is disturbed,” Fuller said.
Giffords, who was shot in the head, is recovering at a Houston rehabilitation hospital. Doctors last week replaced the piece of her skull that had been removed to allow her brain to heal.
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