Victim in Tucson Shooting Pleased by Possible Plea by Jared Lee Loughner
Mavy Stoddard, who lost her husband in the massacre in Arizona last year that severely wounded then-U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, plans to be in a federal courtroom this week to see if her prayers will be answered by a guilty plea from the man accused of the crime.
Stoddard, who has recovered from three gunshot wounds in a leg, said Sunday she’s “just thrilled” by news reports of a possible plea agreement that could send Jared Lee Loughner to prison for the rest of his life.
Tucson remembers rampage that wounded Giffords: In January, Arizonans marked the first anniversary of a shooting rampage in Tucson that left six dead and wounded 13, including then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.).
A person familliar with the case tells the Associated Press a possible plea deal in the deadly Tucson shootings that wounded then-U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords would send Jared Lee Loughner to prison for the rest of his life.
“I don’t really want the death penalty. I would love to see him either put in a mental institution or life in prison with no parole. Either one of them. If he can get some help, that’s what he needs. And maybe he will find the Lord,” Stoddard said in a telephone interview from her home in Tucson, Ariz.
A hearing in the federal case against Loughner is scheduled for Tuesday in Tucson, and a court-appointed psychiatrist is to testify that Loughner is competent to enter a plea, according to a person familiar with the case who was not authorized to discuss the case publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Loughner is expected to enter a guilty plea if the judge allows that to happen at the hearing, according to the person who spoke Saturday about upcoming court proceedings in the case.