Jarod Loughner Pleads Not Guilty

Suspect pleads not guilty in deadly Ariz. shooting - Yahoo! News

Investigators have said Loughner was mentally disturbed and acting increasingly erratic in the weeks leading up to the shooting. If he pleads not guilty by reason insanity and is successful, he could avoid the death penalty and be sent to a mental health facility instead of prison.

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Unbelieveable :shock:

So what exactly will happen to him?

I don't see him getting a not guilty by reason of insanity, even if there is a ton of evidence that he was mentally disturbed at the time.

DontDoIt said:

So what exactly will happen to him?

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He will probably lose his trial and be found guilty, in which case he will either get the needle or life imprisonment without parole. If, by some stroke of luck, his mental impairment defense succeeds, he'll spend decades-- or even his whole life-- in a hospital for the criminally insane, which is more or less just a different type of prison.

DontDoIt said:

Suspect pleads not guilty in deadly Ariz. shooting - Yahoo! News


Unbelieveable :shock:

So what exactly will happen to him?

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What comes next is precisely what he hoped for. A public spectacle of a trial...his 15 minutes of fame. This has already worked out so much better for him than he could have possibly imagined. Rather than the public registering disgust for this POS we have used it as a springboard for partisan attacks.

This is going to turn into a political dog-n-pony show. Loughner's lawyer--I forget her name and don't give a ****--will claim that the political rhetoric incited Loughner to commit this crime. At which time, people will be coming out of the woodwork, slobbering at the chance to put, "Right Wing Hate", on trial.

Did anyone expect anything but a not guilty plea? No surprise here.

A mentally disturbed person pleading not guilty by reason of insanity?

Colour me shocked.

apdst said:

This is going to turn into a political dog-n-pony show. Loughner's lawyer--I forget her name and don't give a ****--will claim that the political rhetoric incited Loughner to commit this crime. At which time, people will be coming out of the woodwork, slobbering at the chance to put, "Right Wing Hate", on trial.

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And when those people come out of the woodwork, they will be condemned by the majority of the population.

There's no evidence at all that he was influenced by Right Wing rhetoric, so relax man. Don't get all "Victimy".

Let the morons be morons.

Jetboogieman said:

A mentally disturbed person pleading not guilty by reason of insanity?

Colour me shocked.



And when those people come out of the woodwork, they will be condemned by the majority of the population.

There's no evidence at all that he was influenced by Right Wing rhetoric, so relax man. Don't get all "Victimy".

Let the morons be morons.

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There is no evidence that he was influenced by anything, yet. There has to be evidence to make a case for anything. Judges don't allow speculation at a trial.

Entering a "not guilty" plea at the time of arraignment is standard operating procedure for the court system. It takes a while to see where the prosecutor is going to go with the case and if there is any chance of a settlement of the case, it takes time. Most courts won't even take a "guilty" plea at the time of arraignment (except in misdemeanor cases) even IF the defendant wants to plead guilty.

I tend to agree that with what I have seen their is no evidence at all he was influenced by Right wing rhetoric. However, he was a very small mined person that thought the government was bad and they were brainwashing us which I would consider him a nut job with no political lean thought I do beleive he was motives were political as he shot the congress woman first apparently and then shot the judge after her. I think its more likely that he wanted to make this a political statement against the government which he views as evil which neither the Right nor the Left adhere too that type of belief we might have different beliefs on how big the government should be allowed to handled things, but I doubt neither political group thinks the government are evil.

However to the story, I kind of doubt he will be found not guilty of mentally insanity as more evidence comes forth it seem more likely he planed it which doesn't fit a mentally insane person as it would have been more unorganized which doesn't seem to be the case here.

I bet the evidence they use in this case will be about his mental illness. To get an "not guilty by reason of insanity" verdict, they have to show that the guy didn't comprehend right from wrong based on his mental illness.

It'll depend entirely on his mental illness, despite what victim-mentality conservatives might try to pretend when they attempt to politicize his trial to assail the left.

apdst said:

This is going to turn into a political dog-n-pony show. Loughner's lawyer--I forget her name and don't give a ****--will claim that the political rhetoric incited Loughner to commit this crime. At which time, people will be coming out of the woodwork, slobbering at the chance to put, "Right Wing Hate", on trial.

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Claiming something and proving something in court are two different things. We will see what happens. I hope everyone would agree that if there really was an actual influence on this man, it would be examined and discussed so we can learn from it.