Forensic analysis and evidence in the Jared Loughner case

Name Date The Jared Loughner Case: A Forensic Analysis

Background Born in Arizona in 1988, Jared Lee Loughner was an only child. By the time he was in high school, there were clear warning signs that Jared had psychotic tendencies. He exhibited “disorganized thinking,” a symptom of schizophrenia, would say “nonsensical things,” and started to talk about government conspiracy theories (“Jared Lee Lougner.” Biography). After a break-up with a girlfriend, Loughner started drinking and using drugs. He had been caught drunk at school and was initially diagnosed with depression (Martinez and Loh 1). Loughner started to become increasingly disruptive in class, writing things on the chalkboard and shouting out in class. He eventually dropped out of high school. When Jared Lee Loughner enrolled in community college, his symptoms only seemed to worsen. He started to talk “inappropriately” about terrorism, posted YouTube videos that candidly revealed his paranoia and “radical anti-government views,” refused a mental health assessment, and was inevitably suspended from school for causing disruptions (“Jared Lee Lougner.” Biography). In fact, “during Loughner\\\\\\\'s time at Pima, a classmate said she thought he might commit a school shooting,” and a teacher suspected the same but neither were able to act on their suspicions due to a lack of hard evidence that Loughner was poised to commit murder (“Jared Lee Loughner,” Murderpedia). Loughner had spoken considerably about using violence in his videos but the shooting spree on January 8, 2011 was apparently his first actual act of physical aggression. However, Loughner had had run-ins with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department over his spray-painting “extremist symbols on a wall,” (“Taped Telephone Search Warrant CASE #110108078” 4). On one occasion Loughner was arrested for defacing public property—a stop sign. The FBI later admitted that the symbols Loughner painted on the stop sign consisted of a “C” and an “X,” which Loughner himself admitted referred to Christianity. Loughner, however, never affirmed any religious affiliations himself and was never formally linked to any religious group, Christian or otherwise. An analysis of Loughner’s digital footprint, including a MySpace page and YouTube channel, revealed that Loughner “held a grudge against the U.S. government,” which led later to his obsession with Gabrielle Lee Giffords, “the local embodiment of that government,” (Montopoli 1). Also relevant to Loughner’s mental state prior to the shooting was his personal reading list, which included Hitler’s Mein Kampf, and Ayn Rand’s We the Living, a book about “the individual versus the totalitarian state,” (Montopoli 1). In spite of his mélange of odd reading materials and his own diatribes, Loughner remained a loner, not creating or maintaining connections with any one political organization. It seemed that Loughner’s belief system was topsy-turvy, at once aligned with right-wing and left-wing groups, with the only thread binding his disparate beliefs being paranoia and a determined mistrust of the American government. Loughner also had trouble keeping jobs, and was fired from several positions he held for brief periods of time including one stint at Quizno’s and another at an animal shelter (“Jared Lee Loughner,” Murderpedia). Expressed freely in video, verbally to other people, and in writing, Loughner’s political views were “radical,” and included not only anti-government conspiracy theories but also anti-Semitic views as well (“Jared Lee Loughner,” Murderpedia). Loughner believed the government was brainwashing him, controlling the grammar of the English language, and was using school as an “illegal” means of “torturing students,” (“Banned video by Arizona gunman Jared Loughner released” 1). Loughner also wrote about his obsession with Gabrielle Giffords, one of the targets of the 2011 shooting. Loughner’s recordings, the statements he made to other people, and his personal writings provided ample forensic evidence that would later be used in his trial. Mental Health It is widely believed that Loughner’s mental health precipitated his violent attack in Tucson on January 8, 2011. Evidence related to Jared Lee Loughner’s subsequent clinical assessments was introduced in court, and had a bearing on the proceedings of the case. In spite of his erratic behavior and radical views, neither his parents nor the people at Pima Community College had stepped in to offer assistance or mental health assessments. Granted, it is nearly impossible to mandate a mental health assessment. If Lougher had been refusing to submit to psychiatric testing, which he did on at least one occasion, then there would have been no legal recourse in the state of Arizona to intervene unless there was demonstrable evidence he posed a direct harm to himself or other people. “In most states, including Arizona, it\\\\\\\'s predictably difficult to detain someone involuntarily due to mental illness,” (Pickert and Cloud 1). However Cloud claims, “ the college had a legal responsibility to refer Loughner to authorities for possible commitment to an institution if officials there thought he had a ‘substantial probability’ of causing harm,” (1). The Loughner case raises important questions about legal responsibility in similar cases. Competency to Stand Trial After Loughner was arrested, he pled not guilty to approximately 50 federal counts. Loughner had received several court-ordered evaluations. Later, Loughner was given a clinical assessment of schizophrenia and the courts ruled him unfit to stand trial due to his diagnosis. Two of the evaluations stood out, being lengthy (52 pages and 43 pages, respectively) and definitively diagnosing Loughner with paranoid schizophrenia (Martinez and Rowlands 1). Loughner had also been unable to work with his lawyers. As a result, the U.S. Attorney General took official custody of Loughner for four months, during which he would forcibly receive psychiatric medications in a hospital setting, in order to “ready the defendant for competency,” which “has proved successful in other cases,” (Martinez and Rowlands 1). As it turned out, prepping Loughner for trial was not as straightforward as it might have been for other defendants. While Loughner remained in custody awaiting trial, he apparently exhibited suicidal and also “bizarre” behavior, even though he was isolated from the general population in the jail for 23 hours per day (Martinez and Lah 1). Loughner also reportedly screamed and cried, “harmed himself and made claims that the radio was inserting thoughts into his head,” even after he had been administered anti-psychotic medication (Martinez and Lah 1). He had been forcibly removed from court marshalls due to inappropriate and disruptive outbursts. The state mandated Loughner be kept on anti-psychotic medication without his consent, even though Loughner was not being kept in a medical facility and had yet to stand trial, raising serious ethical questions about the role of the state in interfering with a defendant’s clinical treatments (Felthous 98). The defendant’s mental health status, and his medication status, ultimately altered the methods by which the state prosecuted Loughner. Whereas Loughner might have been given the death penalty, instead the defendant agreed to a guilty plea in exchange for life without parole. The Attorney General, John S. Leonardo, stated, “Given the defendant\\\\\\\'s history of significant mental illness, this plea agreement, which requires the defendant to spend the remainder of his natural life in prison, with no possibility of parole, is a just and appropriate resolution of this case,” (Martinez and Lah 1). The Crime Loughner purchased what would become the murder weapon, a 9mm Glock pistol, on November 20, 2010. A few months later, on January 8, 2011, Loughner took a taxi to a Safeway supermarket in Casas Adobes, where Congresswoman Giffords was holding a constituents meeting and meet-and-greet event (“Jared Lee Loughner,” Biography; “Jared Lee Loughner,” Murderpedia). The shooting began on Janauray 8, 2011 at 10:10 AM. Loughner opened fire, targeting Giffords and bystanders as well, killing six and injuring fourteen. Congresswoman Giffords was among those critically injured, and she eventually recovered. Loughner issued 31 shots in just 30 seconds (“Jared Lee Loughner,” Biography). The event happened relatively fast and was quickly resolved thanks to the witnesses’ ability to subdue and hold Loughner while law enforcement arrived on the scene. With the abundance of eyewitnesses and survivors of the shooting, gathering forensic evidence for use by the prosecution was straightforward. Forensic Evidence Although bystanders subdued Loughner on the scene, allowing law enforcement officers to arrest him on the spot, the arrest and prosecution of Loughner still depended on ample forensic evidence. Case records from both the FBI and the Pima County Sheriff\\\\\\\'s Department include reference to an abundance of hard evidence from the scene of the crime including video surveillance footage that shows the entire crime “in clear detail,” (Thomas 1). The footage shows one of the victims, federal Judge John Roll, sacrificing himself to help another man: a Giffords staffer named Ron Barber. According to the FBI, Loughner was also seen “moving around a table” to shoot Giffords in her left forehead above the eye, with enough detail to reveal the muzzle flashes (Thomas 1). Giffords survived the shooting and subsequently retired from public office. Another hero on the scene apparently managed to knock a magazine of bullets from Loughner’s hand when he was trying to reload, effectively disarming him and enabling the crowd to subdue him (Dolak and Weaver 1). When law enforcement arrived, the handgun allegedly used in the crime spree was on the floor next to Loughner himself (“Taped Telephone Search Warrant CASE #110108078” 3). Loughner was reportedly calm, “detached,” and even “smiling” at the time of his arrest (Thomas 1). In fact, the surveillance footage also shows Loughner “talking calmly to a Safeway clerk in the moments before the shooting,” (Thomas 1). Also, deputies located two handgun magazines with 18 rounds in them in Loughner’s left front pocket. Loughner was wearing earplugs at the time of his arrest, “indication of preplanning and further indication,” (“Taped Telephone Search Warrant CASE #110108078” 3). In Loughner’s back pocket, officers found his driver’s license. The address on the license was confirmed to be his, belonging to Loughner’s parents. When law enforcement visited the address, Loughner’s parents admitted that their son had “took off running from the home,” carrying a backpack and other materials the morning of the attack (“Taped Telephone Search Warrant CASE #110108078” 4). The Pima County Sheriff’s Office also seized all Loughner’s communications devices and computer, which had on it the video Loughner had made that was also believed to be “evidence of preplanning,” (“Taped Telephone Search Warrant CASE #110108078” 4). Proving premeditation would be essential in case the defendant went with a not guilty by reason of insanity plea. The morning of the crime spree, Loughner had posted “goodbye” on his MySpace page, which had had anti-government postings on it as well (“Taped Telephone Search Warrant CASE #110108078” 4). The Pima County Sheriff’s Department also located text messages, photographs, and videos that were “detailing crimes,” and even how to carry them out in detail (“Taped Telephone Search Warrant CASE #110108078” 4). Also at the Loughner family home, officers found an envelope inside a safe. Inside the envelope was a piece of paper in Jared Lee Loughner’s handwriting that read, “I planned ahead,” and also the phrases “my assassination” and finally. “Giffords,” (“Jared Lee Loughner,” Biography). Also found in the safe was a letter written from Giffords’s own political campaign in 2007 “thanking him for attending a 2007 event,” (Martinez and Loh 1).