UPDATE: 2:10pm EST
Jared Lee Loughner was sentenced to 7 life terms, plus 140 years, in the Arizona shooting that killed 6, wounded 13, including Gabrielle Giffords.
During his sentencing, Federal Judge Larry Burns said that Loughner was not insane at the time of the shooting and that it was premeditated. “He knew what he was doing,” Burns said.
The 7th life term was added for attempted assassination of Giffords.
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UPDATE: 1:05pm EST
Mark Kelly and Gabrielle Giffords were in court today to face shooter Jared Lee Loughner.
Kelly approached the podium and told Loughner to pay attention. Kelly read their statement to Loughner as she stared at him without flinching. As Kelly spoke:
“Gabby would give her own life to bring any one of those you savagely murdered that day. Mr Loughner, you may have put a bullet in her head. But not a dent in her spirit. Every day is a continuous struggle to do those things she once was so good at. If she had not been born with the name Gabby, someone would have given it to her.”
Remarking on her charisma and energy, Kelly continued:
“You tried to create a world for all of us a world as dark and evil as your own but know this. you failed. Gabby was a champion for 600,000 constituents. One of them was you. Mr Loughner, you may have put a bullet in her head. But not a dent in her spirit. After this moment, after today, gabby and I are done thinking about you.”
Loughner has pleaded guilty in the shooting attack and will be sentenced to life in prison.
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Former State Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly will finally come face to face with the man who shot her in the head at a rally in January of 2011 – Jared Lee Loughner.
STORY: LIFE! Jared Lee Loughner Pleads Guilty To Arizona Shooting
Giffords and Kelly will appear at Loughner’s sentencing Thursday following his shooting rampage which left six people dead in Tucson, Arizona.
As reported by Politico:
Loughner struck a plea bargain with federal prosecutors in August that will spare his life, but is designed to ensure that he spends the rest of it behind bars.
Giffords and Kelly will be in the courtroom for his sentencing at 10 a.m. Thursday, and Kelly plans to address Loughner on their behalf, the source said.
At the time of the plea deal with federal prosecutors, Kelly released a statement for himself and Giffords that said they were “satisfied” with the Justice Department’s decision to accept the agreement rather than pursuing the death penalty.
When we last saw Giffords, she was reciting the Pledge of the Allegiance at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. this past summer.
SOURCE: Politico
