Jared Loughner charged with murder in Arizona shootings

[WestVirginiaRebel]

L.A. Times:

Reporting from Washington — Prosecutors moved closer to seeking the death penalty for Jared Lee Loughner, charging him for the first time with the murder of a federal judge and a congressional aide in the shooting rampage earlier this year that also critically wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.).

Loughner, 22, was indicted by a federal grand jury on the new murder allegations, and federal prosecutors in Phoenix said the case now involved "potential death-penalty charges." Six people were killed and 13 others wounded by gunfire Jan. 8 at Giffords' Congress on Your Corner event in Tucson.

"This was an attack on Congresswoman Giffords, her constituents and her staff," said U.S. Atty. Dennis Burke in Phoenix, announcing the 49-count indictment that his office obtained Thursday and made public Friday. "Lives were extinguished while exercising one of the most precious rights of American citizens: the right to meet freely and openly with their member of Congress."

Burke said that Department of Justice rules required the government "to pursue a deliberate and thorough process" before announcing whether it will seek Loughner's death. He said that process includes consulting with those who were wounded and the families of the dead, and "consideration of all evidence relevant to guilt and punishment."

Loughner earlier was indicted on a series of assault charges, and pleaded not guilty. U.S. District Judge Larry Burns of San Diego, who will be trying the case, has set a hearing for Wednesday on the new indictment.

The new charges state that Loughner, firing a Glock 9-millimeter semiautomatic pistol, killed U.S. District Judge John M. Roll while he "was engaged in and on account of the performance of his official duties."
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Here's hoping justice will be swift and certain in this case.