Loughner Gets New Charges

Loughner Gets New Charges

Federal prosecutors say they will file new murder charges against Jared Loughner, the 22-year-old college dropout held in the Tucson massacre.

Dennis Burke, the U.S. attorney for Arizona, last week asked a judge to drop earlier charges in the slayings of U.S. District Judge John Roll and congressional aide Gabriel Zimmerman Jan 8.

Spokesman Robbie Sherwood told the Tucson Sentinel it was a "procedural matter" and the counts will be refiled before a March 9 status conference on the case.

Loughner also is charged with four other killings, the attempted assassination of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and the wounding of a dozen other people in a shooting spree at a constituents gathering outside a Tucson supermarket.

Federal jurisdiction in the case derives from the killing or attempted killing of federal judges, members of Congress and their aides in the course of their duties.

The two murder charges could lead prosecutors to seek the death penalty. The U.S. attorney's office in Phoenix has said prosecutors are taking their time with the murder charges since they may involve capital punishment.
Read More: Upi

More about → Loughner Gets New Charges

Loughner Gets New Charges

Loughner Gets New Charges

Federal prosecutors say they will file new murder charges against Jared Loughner, the 22-year-old college dropout held in the Tucson massacre.

Dennis Burke, the U.S. attorney for Arizona, last week asked a judge to drop earlier charges in the slayings of U.S. District Judge John Roll and congressional aide Gabriel Zimmerman Jan 8.

Spokesman Robbie Sherwood told the Tucson Sentinel it was a "procedural matter" and the counts will be refiled before a March 9 status conference on the case.

Loughner also is charged with four other killings, the attempted assassination of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and the wounding of a dozen other people in a shooting spree at a constituents gathering outside a Tucson supermarket.

Federal jurisdiction in the case derives from the killing or attempted killing of federal judges, members of Congress and their aides in the course of their duties.

The two murder charges could lead prosecutors to seek the death penalty. The U.S. attorney's office in Phoenix has said prosecutors are taking their time with the murder charges since they may involve capital punishment.
Read More: Upi

More about → Loughner Gets New Charges

Gabrielle Giffords speaks

Gabrielle Giffords spoke for the first time since she was shot in the forehead, her spokesman said Wednesday, yet another significant milestone in her recovery from a traumatic brain injury. Giffords first spoke within the past few days and is speaking "more and more," spokesman C.J. Karamargin said Wednesday. He didn't know what her first words were, but said at breakfast one morning she asked for toast. "She's working very hard and it's paying off," he said. "We're elated at this. We always knew Gabby is a fighter and that she's not going to let this thing win. And you know, every day is proof of that."

Six people, including a 9-year-old girl and a federal judge, were killed in the attack outside a grocery store where Giffords was meeting with constituents. Thirteen people, including Giffords, were injured.

Other news organizations, including Politico, earlier reported that Giffords had asked for toast and was able to speak.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Giffords' husband Mark Kelly said his wife had her appetite back and was eating three times a day, "even though it's hospital food."

More about → Gabrielle Giffords speaks