Jared Loughner Sentencing, Former Democratic congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords today stared down the man who shot her in the head as they came face-to-face for the first time during his sentencing.Giffords, 42, was in court in Tucson, Arizona to see Jared Loughner, 24, sentenced to six life terms and 140 years in prison for his shooting spree, which left six dead and 13 injured in January 2011.
In an extraordinary show of bravery and determination, Giffords and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, stood just 20ft away from Loughner as they confronted him about the moment that changed their lives forever.
'You may have put a bullet through her head but you haven't put a dent in her spirit,' Kelly told Loughner, as his wife stood by his side. 'After today, Gabby and I are done thinking about you.'
He also revealed the daily battle faced by his wife, who struggled with her steps as she walked to the podium. He said she works harder in a minute than most people do in a day.
'Her life has been forever changed ... immeasurably altered,' he said of Giffords, who is now partially blind. 'Every day is a continual struggle to do those things she was once so good at.
'You sought to extinguish the beauty of life. You tried to create for us a world as dark and evil as your own. Know this, and remember it always: You failed.
At least 10 victims gathered in court to see Loughner - who only spoke to say he would not be making a statement - be sentenced to the life sentences without possibility of parole.
One victim, Susan Hileman, visibly shook as she recounted being shot three times by Loughner outside the grocery store in Tucson, and repeatedly looked up to lock eyes with her attacker.
Hileman had taken her nine-year-old neighbour Christina Taylor Green, who was killed in the shooting, to the meet-and-greet with Giffords.
Over last several months, she said, 'I wanted to take you by the shoulders and shake you and scream at you. I don't want to be standing here. It’s an awful situation... and it’s all because of you.'
Mavy Stoddard, whose 76-year-old husband was shot dead, told Loughner: 'When you shot my precious husband, Dorwans Stoddard, you ruined my life.'
She recounted telling him to breathe deeply, before watching him die in her arms 10 minutes later.
Then I passed out because you had shot me three times,' she said. 'You took away my life, my love, my reason for living.
'I am so lonesome... I hate living without him. No one to hold me, no one to love me, no one to talk to, no one to care.'
Mary Reed, who was shot in the arm as her children looked on, said: 'Mr Loughner introduced my children to something sinister and evil.'
U.S. Rep Ron Barner, who was elected in June to replace Giffords, spoke to Loughner about the fear he had instilled in the community when he opened fire on January 8, 2011.
'We are thankful (Giffords) survived your attempt to take her life,' he said of his former boss. 'You did not take away her compassion and desire to serve.'
He went on: 'I hold no hatred for you, but I am very angry and sick at heart about what you have done, and the hurt you have caused all of us. You now must bear this burden and never again see the outside of a prison.'
Loughner's parents had their heads down as victims said his parents, college and community had failed the man, who is a diagnosed schizophrenic. Loughner's mother Amy could be seen wiping her eyes.
'There is another victim in this case,' assistant U.S. Attorney Wallace Kleindienst added to the court. 'We would be remiss to acknowledge that Mr. and Mrs. Loughner have lost their son.'
Loughner pleaded guilty in August and struck a deal that assures he will not get the death penalty. Kleindienst told the court that nearly all the victims had said they did not want him to be executed.
At the time of Loughner's 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.
A long trial could have forced the surviving victims, their families and the families of the dead to relive the horrific shooting spree.
Both sides reached the deal after a judge declared that Loughner was able to understand the charges against him. After the shooting, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and underwent forcible psychotropic drug treatments.
Christina Pietz, the court-appointed psychologist who treated Loughner, had warned that although Loughner was competent to plead guilty, he remained severely mentally ill and his condition could deteriorate under the stress of a trial.
On January 8, 2011, Loughner opened fire at a constituents meeting Giffords was holding outside a Tucson supermarket, killing six people, including federal judge John M. Roll, Giffords' aide Gabriel Zimmerman and nine-year-old Christina Taylor-Green, and wounding 13 others.
Giffords, shot in the head, was rushed to the hospital where surgeons saved her life. She underwent intensive in-patient recovery at a medical facility in Houston, Texas.
Since then she has focused most of her time on her recovery at TIRR Memorial Hermann, a rehabilitation center in Houston. She has lost 50 per cent of her vision in both eyes, but is widely considered to have made a remarkable recovery.
The 42-year-old stunned colleagues by appearing on the U.S. House floor in Washington to cast a vote avoiding a default on the nation’s debt in the summer of 2011.
She resigned her seat in January 2012, but recited the Pledge of the Allegiance at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., this past summer.
While she continues to have intensive therapy and her speech is impaired, Giffords has made several public appearances since the incident, most recently going overseas for the first time since she was shot in the head to go hiking in the French Alps.
In an extraordinary show of bravery and determination, Giffords and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, stood just 20ft away from Loughner as they confronted him about the moment that changed their lives forever.
'You may have put a bullet through her head but you haven't put a dent in her spirit,' Kelly told Loughner, as his wife stood by his side. 'After today, Gabby and I are done thinking about you.'
He also revealed the daily battle faced by his wife, who struggled with her steps as she walked to the podium. He said she works harder in a minute than most people do in a day.
'Her life has been forever changed ... immeasurably altered,' he said of Giffords, who is now partially blind. 'Every day is a continual struggle to do those things she was once so good at.
'You sought to extinguish the beauty of life. You tried to create for us a world as dark and evil as your own. Know this, and remember it always: You failed.
At least 10 victims gathered in court to see Loughner - who only spoke to say he would not be making a statement - be sentenced to the life sentences without possibility of parole.
One victim, Susan Hileman, visibly shook as she recounted being shot three times by Loughner outside the grocery store in Tucson, and repeatedly looked up to lock eyes with her attacker.
Hileman had taken her nine-year-old neighbour Christina Taylor Green, who was killed in the shooting, to the meet-and-greet with Giffords.
Over last several months, she said, 'I wanted to take you by the shoulders and shake you and scream at you. I don't want to be standing here. It’s an awful situation... and it’s all because of you.'
Mavy Stoddard, whose 76-year-old husband was shot dead, told Loughner: 'When you shot my precious husband, Dorwans Stoddard, you ruined my life.'
She recounted telling him to breathe deeply, before watching him die in her arms 10 minutes later.
Then I passed out because you had shot me three times,' she said. 'You took away my life, my love, my reason for living.
'I am so lonesome... I hate living without him. No one to hold me, no one to love me, no one to talk to, no one to care.'
Mary Reed, who was shot in the arm as her children looked on, said: 'Mr Loughner introduced my children to something sinister and evil.'
U.S. Rep Ron Barner, who was elected in June to replace Giffords, spoke to Loughner about the fear he had instilled in the community when he opened fire on January 8, 2011.
'We are thankful (Giffords) survived your attempt to take her life,' he said of his former boss. 'You did not take away her compassion and desire to serve.'
He went on: 'I hold no hatred for you, but I am very angry and sick at heart about what you have done, and the hurt you have caused all of us. You now must bear this burden and never again see the outside of a prison.'
Loughner's parents had their heads down as victims said his parents, college and community had failed the man, who is a diagnosed schizophrenic. Loughner's mother Amy could be seen wiping her eyes.
'There is another victim in this case,' assistant U.S. Attorney Wallace Kleindienst added to the court. 'We would be remiss to acknowledge that Mr. and Mrs. Loughner have lost their son.'
Loughner pleaded guilty in August and struck a deal that assures he will not get the death penalty. Kleindienst told the court that nearly all the victims had said they did not want him to be executed.
At the time of Loughner's 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.
A long trial could have forced the surviving victims, their families and the families of the dead to relive the horrific shooting spree.
Both sides reached the deal after a judge declared that Loughner was able to understand the charges against him. After the shooting, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and underwent forcible psychotropic drug treatments.
Christina Pietz, the court-appointed psychologist who treated Loughner, had warned that although Loughner was competent to plead guilty, he remained severely mentally ill and his condition could deteriorate under the stress of a trial.
On January 8, 2011, Loughner opened fire at a constituents meeting Giffords was holding outside a Tucson supermarket, killing six people, including federal judge John M. Roll, Giffords' aide Gabriel Zimmerman and nine-year-old Christina Taylor-Green, and wounding 13 others.
Giffords, shot in the head, was rushed to the hospital where surgeons saved her life. She underwent intensive in-patient recovery at a medical facility in Houston, Texas.
Since then she has focused most of her time on her recovery at TIRR Memorial Hermann, a rehabilitation center in Houston. She has lost 50 per cent of her vision in both eyes, but is widely considered to have made a remarkable recovery.
The 42-year-old stunned colleagues by appearing on the U.S. House floor in Washington to cast a vote avoiding a default on the nation’s debt in the summer of 2011.
She resigned her seat in January 2012, but recited the Pledge of the Allegiance at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., this past summer.
While she continues to have intensive therapy and her speech is impaired, Giffords has made several public appearances since the incident, most recently going overseas for the first time since she was shot in the head to go hiking in the French Alps.
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