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Loughner pleads not guilty to trying to assassinate Rep. Gif
Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 6:40 pm
by RPB
Loughner pleads not guilty to trying to assassinate Rep. Giffords
Story here:
http://wildcat.arizona.edu/news/news-fr ... 0111241617" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Re: Loughner pleads not guilty to trying to assassinate Rep.
Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 6:41 pm
by USA1
RPB wrote:Loughner pleads not guilty to trying to assassinate Rep. Giffords
Re: Loughner pleads not guilty to trying to assassinate Rep.
Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 11:33 pm
by denwego
I have no doubt that this guy is banana-sandwich crazy, and his lawyer is going to push an insanity defense along with this not-guilty plea. However, I have enough faith in the prosecutors that they'll prove him sane-enough-to-have-a-needle-shoved-in-his-arm sane. Let's just hope we find a reliable source of thiopental by the time we need it for him!
Re: Loughner pleads not guilty to trying to assassinate Rep.
Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 11:38 pm
by Beiruty
his lawyer entered the plea, where is the
? he was silent and smiling.
Re: Loughner pleads not guilty to trying to assassinate Rep.
Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 12:06 am
by The Annoyed Man
The lawyers can correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that premeditation neutralizes the insanity defense, and Loughner clearly premeditated his act.
Re: Loughner pleads not guilty to trying to assassinate Rep.
Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 12:16 am
by A-R
The Annoyed Man wrote:The lawyers can correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that premeditation neutralizes the insanity defense, and Loughner clearly premeditated his act.
Also I've heard some lawyer type from Arizona (a county prosecutor maybe?) on one of the news shows mention that Arizona's insanity defense laws are very different. I think they can stick him in the nut house until he is deemed "sane enough to return to society" and THEN commence with carrying out the ultimate and proper punishment.
I may be WAY OFF on this - but I think this is what I remember hearing when he showed up for his first court appearance just after the shooting.
EDITED TO ADD: Good write up about insanity plea in this case here
http://www.examiner.com/political-buzz- ... ly#parsely" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
seems my scenario above may not be exactly correct, but an insanity defense is much tougher to prove under Arizona law.
Re: Loughner pleads not guilty to trying to assassinate Rep.
Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 12:23 am
by rm9792
How could premeditation neutralize insanity as a defense? Nuts can be quite methodical and meticulous.
Re: Loughner pleads not guilty to trying to assassinate Rep.
Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 12:39 am
by i8godzilla
Andrea Yates successfully used the insanity defense (in her second trail). Filling a bathtub and taking your children one at time into the bathroom sounds premeditated to me. But then again, what do I know?