There has been plenty of criminal law news this week. 1. Jared Lee Loughner pled guilty on Tuesday in federal district court to 6 counts of murder and 13 counts of attempted murder, admitting that he went to former Representative Gabrielle Giffords’ January 8, 2011 congressional event armed with a Glock 9-millimeter semiautomatic pistol loaded with 33 rounds of ammunition planning to kill Representative Giffords and others. He admitted to shooting Giffords at close range, and to firing at others with intent to kill. The Los Angeles Times reports that Loughner’s plea ended months of legal debate over Loughner’s mental capacity and set the stage for a sentence to life without parole. The presiding judge determined that Loughner, who has been forcibly medicated with schizophrenia drugs since last summer, was competent. Loughner’s sentencing is set for November 15. 2. Federal authorities continue to investigate the motives behind Wade Page’s attack on worshippers last Sunday at a Sikh temple outside Milwaukee. Page opened fire with a 9-mm pistol inside the temple, killing six people and wounding three more. According to this report, Page shot and killed himself after being shot and injured by a responding officer. Page, an army veteran, led a white power rock band and was being watched by the Anti-Defamation League, but apparently had done nothing before Sunday to indicate he posed an imminent violent threat. The FBI has classified the incident as domestic terrorism, a designation that denotes the social or political motivations of the attacker, and reportedly [...]
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