• Convicted of sex assault - then cleared - fighter pilot sparks protest at Tucson base

    By Bill Briggs, NBC News contributor

    The family of a woman who accused a U.S. fighter pilot of rape spoke at protest Thursday outside the Tucson Air Force base where that airman recently was transferred after his military conviction was erased, his prison sentence voided and his discharge overturned.

    The brother of Kim Hanks said the family came to “voice outrage at the military’s betrayal of our sister” and he questioned why Air Force commanders chose to send Wilkerson to Tucson where much of Hanks’ family resides. 


    Kim Hanks reported that Lt. Col. James Wilkerson assaulted her in March 2012 at his former home on the Aviano Air Base In Italy. 

    A jury composed of five military officers found Wilkerson guilty of aggravated sexual assault in November. Wilkerson, who declined comment for this article through an Air Force spokesman, then was sentenced to a year in the brig and ordered to be removed from the service. In February, however, Air Force Lt. Gen. Craig Franklin reviewed the case, quashed the conviction and dismissed all of the punishments.

    “This ordeal has been extremely painful both for her and the entire family. It is unspeakably hard to watch Kim endure such treatment from the Air Force,” said Dr. Stephen Hanks, a Tucson physician and sibling of Kim Hanks, who is still working at Aviano as a civilian physician's assistant. “She has been forced to withstand an unfair amount of scrutiny and public slandering, hostility, and blame for the crime that was committed against her.

    “When the Air Force was notified that Wilkerson was being reassigned to the town where a significant number of Kim's family lives, they refused to consider moving him to one of the multitude of other bases around the world,” Stephen Hanks told about 50 fellow protesters outside Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. “It didn't seem to bother them that his presence in Tucson would inflict additional suffering or risk for Kim as well as us. We are here today to … demand that Lt. Col. Wilkerson and Lt. Gen. Franklin be removed from the Air Force immediately.”

    As of Monday, Wilkerson had reported to duty at Davis-Monthan, said Capt. Justin Brockhoff, spokesman for the 12th Air Force, which is headquartered at that base.

    That was news to the Hanks family.

    “The Air Force said they would tell Kim where he would go, prior to their assigning him, to get her feelings about that,” Hanks said. “They never did. Nobody told us anything.”

    Responded Air Force spokeswoman Capt. Lindsey A. Hahn: "Air Force assignments are based on the individual's qualifications as well as the needs of the Air Force. To the best of our knowledge, there was no commitment by the Air Force to notify the accuser of Lt. Col. Wilkerson's next assignment.”

    Hahn added that the Air Force personnel officers who opted to station Wilkerson in Tucson would not have known the location of Kim Hanks’ extended family.

    When a U.S. service member is convicted of a sexual crime by a military tribunal — as Wilkerson was — that service member must register as a sex offender with public databases in the same way that civilian convicts must notify those systems, including providing a current home address, said Katy Otto, spokeswoman for the Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN). That condition falls under the 1994 Wetterling Act.

    But because Lt. Gen. Franklin tossed out the conviction, Wilkerson faced no such requirement, said SWAN Policy Director Greg Jacob.

    “It's as if Wilkerson was found not guilty by the court,” Jacob said. “Since under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act a conviction triggers registration, Wilkerson does not have to register as a sex offender."

    The conviction’s reversal and Wilkerson’s subsequent transfer to Tucson prompted Thursday’s protest, organized by Protect Our Defenders, an advocacy group for victims of military sexual assault. Members of that organization have publicly called on Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to remove Wilkerson from the Air Force. On Monday, their president, Nancy Parrish, also sent a letter to Hagel requesting that Franklin also be dismissed from service.

    Franklin’s decision to reverse the military jury’s ruling, Parrish said in her letter, “clearly conflicts with his responsibility to further good order and discipline within the service ... Lt. General Franklin must be fired.

    “What powers could Lt. General Franklin possess that would make him a better judge of the credibility of witnesses than the actual court members, who observed the testimony?” Parrish asked. “He did nothing more than protect a fellow pilot.” 

    Related:

  • 5 killed, 13 hurt after SUV rolls over near Tucson

    KVOA

    Five people were killed late Saturday when an SUV crashed near Tucson, Arizona.

    By Peter Jeary, Senior Foreign Desk Editor, NBC News

    Five people were killed - including a young boy - and 13 injured late Saturday when an SUV rolled over southeast of Tucson, authorities said.

    Arizona Department of Public Safety officials said preliminary investigations suggested 18 people were traveling inside the Chevrolet Tahoe at the time of the accident at Interstate 10 and Arizona State Route 83.

    "Preliminary reports indicate that the driver of the Tahoe lost control on the exit ramp and rolled the vehicle resulting in multiple fatalities and injuries," according to a Customs and Border Protection statement.

    The fatalities included a young boy, NBC station KVOA reported.

    "You could see vehicle parts all over," Rincon Valley Fire District Assistant Chief Lee Bucklin told KVOA. "There were people thrown all over the place."

    Citing a statement from Customs and Border Protection, KVOA said Border Patrol agents had tried to stop the vehicle on westbound Interstate 10 around 11 p.m. local time on Saturday but the vehicle had kept going.

    This story was originally published on Mon Apr 22, 2013 5:57 AM EDT

  • Man held for 42 years in deadly Arizona hotel fire freed from prison

    Benjie Sanders / Arizona Daily Star via AP

    Lewis Taylor shakes hands with his first attorney from 1972, Howard Kashman, as his current defense team surrounds him after a hearing in Pima County Superior Court in Tucson, Ariz., on Tuesday April 2.

    By Elizabeth Chuck, Staff Writer, NBC News

    An Arizona man who has maintained for 42 years that he had nothing to do with a horrific hotel fire that killed more than two dozen people pleaded no contest Tuesday in a deal that set aside his original conviction and freed him from prison.

    "Welcome back, Mr. Taylor," Tucson Superior Court Judge Richard Fields said after accepting 59-year-old Louis Cuen Taylor's plea on Tuesday, reported The Arizona Daily Star. The plea deal gives him credit for time already served.

    "It feels good to just feel Mother Earth underneath my feet, free Mother Earth," Taylor said as he walked out of prison later in the day, The Arizona Republic reported.

    Taylor was just 16 years old when he was sentenced to multiple consecutive life sentences for a fire that ripped through the Pioneer Hotel, a Tucson landmark that went up in flames in December 1970 while employees of an aircraft company were there for a Christmas party. 

    The only person to speak on behalf of the hotel victims on Tuesday was Paul D'Hedouville II, whose father was killed when he was 4.

    "Mr. Taylor, I stand in front of you today to say I harbor no feeling of ill will or grievance against you," D'Hedouville said, according to The Daily Star. "Do not waste your new beginning at life."

    Taylor, who is black, claims police pinned the crime on him and an all-white jury gave him an unfair trial. A 2002 examination of his case by CBS' "60 Minutes" found evidence that he had been railroaded and led volunteer legal group The Arizona Justice Project to take on his case.

    The blaze killed 29 people: Some jumped to their deaths, others were trapped in their rooms because fire truck ladders weren't long enough to reach upper floors, but most victims died from carbon-monoxide poisoning inside the hotel.

    Will Seberger / Zuma Press

    Louis Cuen Taylor leaves state prison in Tucson, Ariz., on Tuesday, April 2, after having served 42 years.

    Taylor had been sentenced to 28 consecutive life sentences — one for each murder count leveled against him. The twenty-ninth victim died months later from injuries he got in the fire; Taylor was never charged in that victim's death. He didn't show any visible reaction on Tuesday as he accepted the plea deal, The Associated Press reported.


    He had been at the hotel that night because he was trying to score some free food and drinks from the Christmas revelers, according to "60 Minutes." Once the fire broke out, police officers and rescue teams asked Taylor to bang on doors and help injured guests get out. Hours later, he was blamed for setting the blaze.

    Taylor was interrogated without a lawyer present. The lead fire investigator on the case, Cy Holmes, determined in 1970 that the cause of the fire was arson.

    In the "60 Minutes" investigation, Arizona Justice Project lawyers said newer fire techniques found that the cause of the fire was "undetermined" — that there was no proof beyond a reasonable doubt that it had been arson.

    Holmes, the lead fire investigator, admitted in a 2002 deposition that his profile of potential suspects included race.

    "He's probably a negro, and he's probably 18," he said he told the City Council after the fire, based on years of experience he had investigating arson cases.

    Holmes, now 83, told The Associated Press on Monday he still stands by his determination that the fire was arson. 

    "There's no question about it," he said. He added that the new findings by Taylor's defense experts are based on incomplete information because a lot of the evidence was destroyed. "They didn't spend two full days digging through that place."

    Taylor has always maintained his innocence, and he struggled with the decision to plead no contest on Tuesday, an agreement he reached with prosecutors.

    "He initially rejected it," Arizona Justice Project Executive Co-director Katie Puzauskas said, reported The Daily Star.

    His plea in a Tucson courtroom came before relatives of some of the victims, reported The Daily Star.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    This story was originally published on Tue Apr 2, 2013 10:25 AM EDT

  • Loughner's parents hid shotgun from him, slew of new documents show

    AFP - Getty Images, file

    Jared Loughner, 24.

    By Elizabeth Chuck, Staff Writer, NBC News

    Jared Loughner hadn't been the same since he got fired from a job at a mall in Tucson, his parents said. He had been expelled from college. After a visit from campus police, his parents decided to hide a shotgun that Loughner owned in the trunk of their car in the garage so he didn't have access to it in the house.

    A slew of details about Loughner, 24 -- who has pleaded guilty to killing six people and wounding former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and a dozen others in a Jan. 8, 2011, shooting spree in Tucson -- emerged as authorities investigating the rampage released more than 2,700 pages of documents that they have compiled.

    Among the thousands of interviews, police reports and survivors' statements released Wednesday, one theme was constant about Loughner, who has since been diagnosed with schizophrenia: As his father, Randy Loughner, told investigators at the time, he "just doesn't seem right lately."

    Loughner was fired more than a year before the shooting, his father told investigators after the shooting, according to the documents. Trying to have a rational conversation with his son became more and more difficult after that, he said.

    "Lost, lost and just didn't want to communicate with me," Randy Loughner said.

    After Loughner was expelled, things got worse: Randy Loughner said his son felt harassed by campus police, who came to the Loughner home and asked if there were any firearms in the house. Loughner had bought a 12-gauge shotgun in 2008; at the recommendation of Pima Community College campus police, who recommended any firearms be taken away, they hid the shotgun and an antique weapon they owned.

    "He had a shotgun. And I took it away," Randy Loughner told police. "They suggested that if I had any firearms, to take them away. And I did."


    A former friend of Loughner's, Zachary Osler, was an employee at a store where Loughner later purchased a Glock handgun used in the Tucson rampage. Osler described the awkward encounter he had with Loughner.

    "His response is nothing. Just a mute facial expression. And just like, he, he didn't care," Osler told investigators. He said the change in Loughner's personality made him uncomfortable to be around. 

    "He would say he could dream and then control what he was doing while he was dreaming," Osler said, adding Loughner never mentioned Giffords in conversation to him.

    Loughner's mother, Amy, felt her son's behavior was so odd that she tested him for drugs. Loughner kept a journal that was written in illegible script, his father said. Despite their concerns, Loughner's parents said they never sent him to get help and he had never been diagnosed as mentally ill.

    On the morning of the shooting, Loughner's father said his son had been "acting strange." Loughner had taken his father's car early in the morning, returned home briefly, left again, then returned home once more before leaving on foot with a backpack.

    Pima County Sheriff's Deputy T. Audetat Jr. wrote in his police report that when he arrived at the scene, he saw a man being held down by "two or three people". He handcuffed the shooter; in the shooter's pocket, in addition to two Glock magazines, fully loaded, he found a folding knife and a credit card and ID card, he said. 

    He described what the shooter was wearing: black beanie, black hooded sweatshirt, khaki pants. Another deputy noticed he was wearing earplugs, he wrote in his report.

    One of the victims of the shooting outside the Safeway supermarket, Ronald Barber, told police of the rampage, "I was laying on my right side and I could see the blood coming out. You know, and, uh, and all I remember is seeing the congresswoman with her back to me, on her side. On her right side, uh, with her head up against the window, you know, of the Safeway. And Daniel, um, who is our intern, saying, 'Stay with me, congresswoman, stay with me.'"

    Once in the patrol car, Loughner pleaded the Fifth Amendment repeatedly, Deputy Audetat wrote. At the police station, Loughner said very little besides, "I just want you to know that I'm the only person that knew about this," according to the deputy.

    In his four-hour interview with authorities following the morning rampage, Loughner sat in restraints and was polite and cooperative with authorities, documents show. He asked to use the restroom at one point, saying thank you when he was permitted to. Although after a while he complained, "I'm about ready to fall over."

    Loughner will spend the rest of his life behind bars but is not eligible for the death penalty because of his plea deal in the case. Giffords retired from her position in Congress a year after the shooting to focus on her recovery.

  • At scene of her shooting, Giffords urges Congress to expand background checks

    Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords speaks in Tucson, Ariz., in support of background checks for gun purchases. Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, returned to the scene where she was shot in 2011.

    By Erin McClam, Staff Writer, NBC News

    Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords returned Wednesday to the Arizona grocery store where she was shot to push Congress to expand background checks for gun purchases.


    “Be bold. Be courageous. Please support background checks. Thank you very much,” said Giffords, speaking carefully in a brief appearance at the podium.

    Giffords appeared at the Safeway in Tucson with her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, and with survivors and relatives of victims of the January 2011 shooting. Besides Giffords, six people were killed and 12 wounded.

    The former congresswoman also placed a bouquet on a memorial at the supermarket.

    The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote Thursday on a bill that would toughen penalties for people who buy guns illegally for others and to make gun trafficking a felony.

    Giffords and Kelly’s group, Americans For Responsible Solutions, is airing TV ads in Arizona to persuade Sen. Jeff Flake, a Republican, to back universal background checks.

    A Flake spokeswoman said Wednesday that the senator opposes universal background checks. She said Flake supports making sure mental health records are better integrated into the background-check system “so that those who shouldn’t have access to guns are barred from purchasing them.”

    Asked about universal background checks on NBC’s “Meet the Press” last month, Arizona’s other senator, Republican John McCain, said senators were working on a bill “that I think that most of us will be able to support.”

    Jared Lee Loughner, 24, was sentenced in November to seven consecutive life sentences, plus 140 years, after pleading guilty in Giffords’ shooting. Giffords was at the Safeway for a meet-and-greet with constituents on Jan. 8, 2011.

    It was not the first time Giffords had returned to the Tucson Safeway. She was there for the anniversary of her shooting.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    This story was originally published on Wed Mar 6, 2013 2:57 PM EST

  • Tucson shooter sentenced to life after Giffords, other victims confront him

    The gunman who killed six people and tried to assassinated U.S. congresswoman Gabby Giffords showed no emotion in court as a judge sentenced him to life in prison. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.

    By NBC News staff and wire reports

    TUCSON, Ariz. -- The man who pleaded guilty to a deadly Arizona shooting rampage that wounded former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has been sentenced to life in prison.

    Ross D. Franklin / AP

    Former Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, left, and her husband, Mark Kelly, leave U.S. District Court in Tucson, Ariz., on Thursday, Nov. 8, after the sentencing of Jared Loughner.

    U.S. District Judge Larry Burns sentenced 24-year-old Jared Lee Loughner on Thursday for the January 2011 attack that left six people dead and Giffords and others wounded.

    Loughner pleaded guilty to federal charges under an agreement that guarantees he will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole. He received seven life terms, one for each death and one for the attempt on Giffords' life, plus 140 years.

    Giffords hugged her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, after the sentencing was handed down.

    Loughner showed little response to the sentence.

    The hearing marked the first time victims -- including Giffords -- could confront Loughner in court. Her husband spoke on her behalf, saying Loughner changed his wife's life forever but couldn't dent her spirit.


    At the courtroom podium, Giffords held Kelly’s hand silently and stared directly at Loughner as Kelly addressed him in a stern tone, NBC News reported.

    "That bright and chilly morning you killed six innocent people," Kelly said. "Gabby would trade her own life to save any of those you savagely murdered that day."

    Kelly then named the six victims and talked a little about each. Afterward he said:

    "Then there's Gabby... Now she struggles to deliver each and every sentence ...  Gabby struggles to walk. Her right arm is paralyzed. She is partially blind."

    "Mr. Loughner, by making death and producing tragedy ... you tried to extinguish life ... But know this and remember always -- you failed. You may have put a bullet through her head, but you haven't put a dent in her spirit and commitment ... " ...

    "You have decades upon decades to contemplate what you did. But after today. After this moment. Here and now. Gabby and I are done thinking about you.

    Kelly also lambasted elected officials for their positions on gun control, naming Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer as one of many "feckless" state elected leaders who "look at gun violence,not as a problem to solve, but as the white elephant in the room to ignore."

    Brewer spokesman Matthew Benson declined comment on the criticism leveled against the governor. 

    "This is a day of justice and peace," he said.

    Read Mark Kelly's complete testimony as prepared for delivery 

    Loughner, asked at the outset of the hearing by Burns if he had chosen to waive his right to make a statement, answered in a low voice, "That's true."

    He was otherwise silent as he sat next to his lawyer, Judy Clarke.

    Clarke put her hand on Loughner's arm after Kelly spoke, a contrast to last year when the defendant spat on his lawyer from his jail cell, NBC News reported.

    Other survivors also addressed Loughner.

    "You forgot to shoot yourself," Mavanell Stoddard, whose husband died shielding her from bullets, told Loughner, according to a reporter from The Arizona Republic.

    Suzi Hileman, who was shot three times while trying to save her 9-year-old neighbor, told Loughner she would think of him as dead. "You turned a civics lesson into a nightmare."

    The 24-year-old Loughner pleaded guilty three months ago to 19 federal charges under a plea agreement.

    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.

    Some victims, including Giffords, welcomed the deal as a way to move on. It spared victims and their families from having to go through a potentially lengthy and traumatic trial and locks up the defendant for life.

    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.

    When Loughner first arrived at a Missouri prison facility for treatment, he was convinced Giffords was dead, even though he was shown a video of the shooting. He eventually realized she was alive after he was forcibly medicated.

    'Home for good': Giffords, husband move back to Tucson

    It's unknown whether Pima County prosecutors, who have discretion on whether to seek the death penalty against Loughner, will file state charges against him. Stephanie Coronado, a spokeswoman for Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall, said Wednesday that no decision had been made.

    It's also unclear where Loughner will be sent to serve his federal sentence. He could return to a prison medical facility like the one in Springfield, Mo., where he's been treated for more than a year. Or he could end up in a prison such as the federal lockup in Florence, Colo., that houses some of the country's most notorious criminals, including Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols and "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski.

    The exact placement will depend on the nature of his mental illness and its treatment.

    Slideshow: Ariz. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

    Saul Loeb / EPA

    A look at the Arizona lawmaker's rise to prominence — from high school to Capitol Hill.

    Launch slideshow

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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  • Arizona prison battle: Unit put on lockdown after 200 inmates fight

    By NBC News staff and wire reports

    About 200 inmates at an Arizona prison fought each other for up to a half hour Thursday, injuring several inmates and a guard, correction officials said.

    A joint report by NBC station KPNX and The Arizona Republic said that the fight meant a unit at Arizona State Prison Complex-Tucson would be on lockdown for several days while authorities investigate, according to officials.


    The fight broke out at 5:30 p.m. local time (8:30 p.m. ET) in the Santa Rita Unit yard, Bill Lamoreaux, an Arizona Corrections spokesman said, according to the report. Tactical Support Unit teams and prison personnel regained control of the yard within a half hour.

    Reuters reported that officers secured the yard without the use of force. 

    The prison staff member who was hurt suffered an injury to the ribcage, Lamoreaux added.

    The prison complex has 5,150 beds, while the Santa Rita Unit has 768 beds, 727 of which were occupied Thursday.

    13 inmates hurt, shots fired during 'New Folsom' prison riot

    On Wednesday, a prisoner was shot and injured and 12 others were hurt when 60 inmates rioted at California State Prison-Sacramento – known as "New Folsom." 

    Thirteen people were stabbed, shot or injured in a prison riot in Folsom, Calif., sparked by a dueling group of inmates. KCRA's Mike TeSelle reports.

    Guards fired six bullets from a rifle and blast dispersion rounds during their efforts to stop the fighting.

    Reuters contributed to this report.

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  • 'Home for good': Gabrielle Giffords and husband move back to Tucson

    Samantha Sais / Reuters, file

    Gabrielle Giffords waves to the crowd with husband Mark Kelly at her side after voting in Tucson on June 12.

    By NBC News staff and wire reports

    PHOENIX - Former Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who was gravely wounded in a mass shooting that killed six and injured 12 others, moved back home to Tucson on Sunday, her husband said.

    "Moving back to Tucson today," tweeted her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly. "Gabby has been waiting for this day for a long time.

    Kelly said the couple was returning to Tucson from Houston, where she underwent intensive rehabilitation after being shot through the head at a meet-and-greet event with constituents in Tucson about 18 months ago. Among those killed were a 9-year-old girl and a federal judge.

    Loughner pleads guilty to Tucson shootings, avoids death penalty

    Giffords, 42, resigned from office in January to focus on her recovery. She visited Tucson several times since the mass shooting that occurred outside a supermarket.

    "She's gone home before to visit, but this is different," Kelly was quoted as saying in the Arizona Daily Star. "She'll be home for good. She's very, very happy."

    "Since the day she basically realized that she was not in Arizona anymore after her injury ... very early on, the first stuff she talked about was getting home," Kelly told the newspaper. "But it was very important for her to be in Houston, where she was able to get very specific therapy for this type of injury. She did that for a year and a half and the second we realized that was going to start winding down, it was time for us to start looking forward to how we could get to Tucson."

    The two recently bought a home in the city, the newspaper added. 

    Slideshow: Ariz. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

    Saul Loeb / EPA

    A look at the Arizona lawmaker's rise to prominence — from high school to Capitol Hill.

    Launch slideshow

    The accused gunman in the shooting spree, Jared Loughner, 23, has pleaded guilty to 19 counts under a plea agreement that guarantees he will spend the rest of his life in prison. He is to be sentenced in November. 

    Giffords makes rare public appearance to accept award

    A federal Bureau of Prisons psychologist observing Loughner concluded in an April report released Thursday that he was mentally competent to stand trial for the shooting, but there was no guarantee he would remain so given his fragile state.

    Jared Lee Loughner will spend the rest of his life in jail for killing six people and wounding others, including then-Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, during a 2011 shooting rampage in Arizona. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.

    Christina Pietz also concluded that Loughner’s status "may wax and wane" and could seriously worsen under the pressure of a trial.

    Her assessment is part of what led his lawyers to conclude that a guilty plea was the wisest move.

    Medication was controlling the psychotic symptoms of Loughner's schizophrenia, Pietz said.

    'As much of a normal life as possible'
    Giffords, meanwhile, appears to have made great strides in her recovery since the shooting, and has shown significant improvement in her physical strength, particularly in her ability to walk unaided.

    Arizona Democrats hold on to Giffords' congressional seat


    In Aug. 2011, she prompted a standing ovation from members of Congress on her first return to the House floor since the shooting. 

    On the one-year anniversary of the shooting Giffords recited the Pledge of Allegiance in front of a hometown crowd, the Daily Star reported, but just two weeks later she resigned from Congress.

    Kelly and Giffords took a holiday from her grueling  rehabilitation schedule over the summer, traveling through Switzerland, Italy, France and Spain, the Daily Star reported.

    PhotoBlog: Gabrielle Giffords summits French Alps

    "She's getting to the point with some things she needs less than others. You know, it's time for her to get back to as much of a normal life as possible after this type of catastrophic injury," Kelly said, according to the paper. "Obviously, a big thing for her is to come home."

    Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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  • Tucson police: Mother kills 2 children, then shoots herself

    A Tucson mother is in jail, accused of shooting and killing her own two children. KVOA-TV's Erika Flores reports.

    By James Eng, NBC News

    A Tucson, Ariz., woman fatally shot her two young children and then shot herself, police said Sunday.

    Perla Morales, 25, survived the shooting. She was arrested and booked into the Pima County Jail on two counts of first-degree murder after her release from the hospital.

    Tucson Police Department

    Perla Morales, 25, was arrested in the shooting deaths of her two young children.

    The children were identified as Richard Rosovich Jr., 17 months, and Emma Rosovich, 4.

    Tucson police responded to a 911 call about a shooting at a residence in south Tucson just after 7 p.m. on Saturday.

    The baby was pronounced dead at the scene. The 4-year-old girl and the mother were taken to a hospital, where the girl later died, Sgt. Maria Hawke said in a press release.

    “Initial indications were that the mother of the children was home alone with them when the incident occurred,” Hawke said.  “While in the residence with both kids, she retrieved a handgun and shot both of her children.  The injuries that she sustained appeared to be self-inflicted, but were not life-threatening.”

    Detectives said they were withholding the possible motive for the shooting “for investigative reasons.”

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  • Psychologist: No guarantee that Arizona shooter Jared Loughner would stay competent

    Jared Lee Loughner took full responsibility for the Arizona massacre, and now faces the rest of his life in prison. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.

    By Pete Williams and Isolde Raftery, NBC News

    The federal Bureau of Prisons psychologist observing Jared Loughner concluded in an April report released Thursday that he was mentally competent to stand trial for the Arizona shooting spree that left six people dead and 13 wounded, but there was no guarantee he would remain so given his fragile state.

    Christina Pietz also concluded that Loughner’s status "may wax and wane" and could seriously worsen under the pressure of a trial.

    Her assessment is part of what led his lawyers to conclude that a guilty plea was the wisest move.


    Loughner opened fire on Jan. 8, 2011, outside a Tucson Safeway where  former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was holding a meet-and-greet with constituents. Six people, including a federal judge, John Roll, and a 9-year-old girl, Christina-Taylor Green, were killed. Giffords, who was shot in the head, was among 13 people wounded. Loughner pleaded guilty on Tuesday and in doing so, avoided the death penalty.

    The report released Thursday covers a roughly 12-week period during which Pietz evaluated Loughner, from January to April of this year, at the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Mo. Loughner was sent there after initially being found incompetent to stand trial.

    Jared Loughner pleads guilty to Tucson shootings, avoids death penalty

    In the 11-page report, which was included in a court filing, Pietz concludes that Loughner is schizophrenic, but that his symptoms can be controlled with medication.

    Throughout, the psychologist details Loughner’s housing and daily routine. Because he is a high-profile inmate, she writes, he is housed in a two-room area of the facility. One side of his room has a writing desk, bed and shower. The shower doesn’t have a curtain to allow staff to monitor him.

    Read the psychologist report (.pdf)

    In that room, he keeps a television, pen, toothpaste, toothbrush, shampoo and towel. The other room has stationary bike, although Pietz writes that Loughner rarely uses the second room.

    Loughner remained on suicide watch during the 12 weeks Pietz evaluated him, and guards recorded his activities every 15 minutes in a suicide watch log.

    “He denied experiencing auditory hallucinations,” Pietz wrote. But “there were a few times that staff suspected he was attending to internal stimuli because he would moan while pacing in his room.”

    Loughner attended a therapy group with four other inmates from whom he was separated with a mesh wire. Pietz reported that he was an active participant during most of those sessions but sometimes paced in his area.

    Analysis: In Loughner case, a cost-benefit calculation to the death penalty

    Loughner also asked for a job and received two: rolling towels and stamping returned addresses on blank envelopes.

    His improvement over time was marked, Pietz wrote, and when he spoke with her, he remained focused. During those conversations, which he knew would likely become public, Loughner sometimes said he regretted that Giffords did not die.

    “He talked openly about his disappointment that Rep. Giffords could be alive,” Pietz wrote. “When I asked what this meant he stated, ‘That I failed. I’m not an assassin. That I ruined my life for nothing. I think differently now.’”

    Later in the interview, he told Pietz, “It’s another failure if she’s alive. Jared Loughner failed again. He’s a failure. So all of this would be for nothing.”

    On Jan. 24, the beginning of his evaluation, Loughner said, “I saw her on TV last night. I saw Christina Green. I saw Mrs. Hileman (Suzi Hileman, a shooting survivor). I saw the guy that held me down. I saw her walk into her office for the last time. She was going to the State of the Union address. I swear to you that’s not the woman I shot. The woman I shot in the head died instantly. No one could survive that gunshot wound to the head.” 

    Later though, Loughner demonstrated to Pietz that he understood Giffords was alive.

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    Pietz reported that his attorney visits left Loughner exhausted. At first, he was unrestrained during those meetings. But after he spat and lunged at one of his attorneys, he was outfitted with a belly chain, handcuffs and leg irons. Those restraints have since come off.

    In conclusion, Pietz writes: “Because Mr. Loughner’s condition may wax and wane, I recommend the court expeditiously address issues related to his situation.”

    After his guilty plea, Loughner was returned to the Missouri facility pending sentencing on Nov. 15. He faces a sentence of life in prison.

     

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  • Jared Loughner pleads guilty to Tucson shootings, avoids death penalty

    Jared Lee Loughner took full responsibility for the Arizona massacre, and now faces the rest of his life in prison. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.

    By NBC News staff

    Updated 6:50 p.m. ET: Jared Lee Loughner on Tuesday pleaded guilty to killing six people and wounding former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and a dozen others in a January 2011 shooting rampage at a Tucson, Ariz., supermarket.

    The plea came after U.S. District Court Judge Larry A. Burns ruled that the 23-year-old college dropout was competent enough to enter a plea.  

    "He's a different person in his appearance and affect than the first time I saw him," Burns said of Loughner.

    Bill Robles

    A courtroom sketch of Jared Loughner and his attorney Judy Clarke.

     


    Burns then began to question Loughner, asking if he understood everything in his guilty plea agreement, in which Loughner would admit to 19 counts --  the attempted assassination of Giffords, six counts related to the shooting deaths and the remaining counts for injuries --  and the government would not seek the death penalty.

    Loughner said he understood the charges. Asked by the judge if he has a clear mind, Loughner responded, "Yes, I do."

    Burns confirmed with Loughner and his attorney, Judy Clarke, that they understood that Loughner could not change his plea to not guilty by reason of insanity. Clarke also explained the deal waives Loughner's right to an appeal.

    Additional provisions of the plea deal call for Loughner to forfeit ownership of the weapons he used in the shootings and pay restitution of up to $19 million, $1 million to each of the victims. He also must forfeit any money earned from selling his story.

    Burns then read each of the counts against Loughner to which Loughner replied, "I plead guilty." The judge accepted the pleas.

    Loughner opened fire on Jan. 8, 2011, outside a Tucson Safeway where then-Rep. Giffords was holding a meet-and-greet with constituents. Six people, including a federal judge, John Roll, and a 9-year-old girl, Christina-Taylor Green, were killed. Giffords, who was shot in the head, was among 13 people wounded.

    John Leonardo, the US Attorney for the District of Arizona, says "Today justice was done," because Jared Loughner "will spend the rest of his life in prison." Watch the entire news conference.

    Earlier Tuesday, with Loughner listening calmly without expression, Dr. Christina Pietz, a psychologist who evaluated Loughner, testified that he showed signs of depression as early as 2006 and was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2011. 

    Officials at a federal prison have forcibly medicated him with psychotropic drugs for more than a year. 

    Pietz said she believed that medication helped Loughner because he began showing some remorse about the shootings and at one point said he felt bad about the “assassination attempt,” and was tormented by thoughts of what he’d done.

    "He has become human," Pietz said, testifying Loughner was mentally competent to proceed with the hearing.

    A guilty plea deal means Loughner will not face the death penalty; instead, he would spend the rest of his life in prison. It would also mean that survivors and victims’ relatives, many of whom attended Tuesday's hearing, would be spared what could be a lengthy and agonizing trial.

    Loughner initialed each page of the agreement "JL" and signed his name to the document, dated Aug. 6, 2012, with a shaky signature.

    Though the plea agreement stipulates that Loughner will face a punishment of life in prison, he was not formally sentenced on Tuesday. That has been scheduled for Nov. 15.

    Analysis: In Loughner case, a cost-benefit calculation to the death penalty

    "It is my hope that this decision will allow the Tucson community, and the nation, to continue the healing process free of what would likely be extended trial and pre-trial proceedings that would not have a certain outcome," Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement. "In making the determination not to seek the death penalty, I took into consideration the views of the victims and survivor families, the recommendations of the prosecutors assigned to the case, and the applicable law."

    The U.S. Attorney for Arizona, John Leonardo, said the resolution of the case was appropriate.

    Martial Trezzini / EPA

    Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, seen here on July 25, 2012, was shot in the head during the shooting spree.

    "The lives of these victims and the lives of their families will never be the same," Leonardo said, "and nothing that the criminal justice system or anyone else can do will ever bring back what these people have lost."

    Several shooting survivors spoke out after the hearing, including U.S. Rep. Ron Barber, a former aide to Giffords, who called the plea agreement "certain" and "just."

    Earlier, Giffords’ husband said he and his wife were also satisfied with the plea deal with Loughner.

    "Gabby and I have been in contact with the U.S. Attorneys' Office throughout this process.  We don't speak for all of the victims or their families, but Gabby and I are satisfied with this plea agreement,” Kelly, a retired astronaut, said in the statement. 

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    “The pain and loss caused by the events of January 8, 2011 are incalculable.  Avoiding a trial will allow us - and we hope the whole Southern Arizona community - to continue with our recovery and move forward with our lives."

    Giffords retired from Congress a year after the shooting to focus on her recovery.

    NBC's Pete Williams, Jay Gray and Miguel Almaguer contributed to this report.

     

     

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  • Analysis: In Loughner case, a cost-benefit calculation to the death penalty

    Sources says Jared Lee Loughner, the man accused of killing six people and wounding Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in 2011, is set to plead guilty Tuesday. NBC News' Diana Alvear reports.

    By Wes Oliver, Special to NBC News

    ANALYSIS

    Updated at 4 p.m. ET Aug. 7: The death penalty is often regarded as a relic of a bygone era, invented in a world before prisons, when branding, maiming and flogging were the lesser options. Its role is often debated in a modern world in which incarceration rather than physical pain is the norm.

    Wes OliverWes Oliver is a law professor and director of the Criminal Justice Program at the Duquesne University School of Law.

    That Jared Lee Loughner, who shot then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and many others in Tucson early last year, pleaded guilty Tuesday shows why the death penalty may be allowed to linger on the books.

    Loughner chose a certain life sentence over the risk of a death sentence. That threat — the potential of facing death — avoided a costly and highly publicized trial, saving the victims and their families from a painful ordeal and the judicial system from expending extraordinary resources.

    Without the threat of the death penalty, there likely wouldn't have been a plea deal — no reasonable prosecutor would be willing to risk letting Loughner see the light of day outside a jail cell. And no reasonable defense lawyer would recommend that his client accept the maximum sentence permitted by law. 

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    The child sexual abuse case against former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky offers an excellent comparison. With the prosecution unable to offer anything more — or less — than a life sentence, the defense could do nothing other than recommend that Sandusky roll the dice, because there was no downside to letting the jury decide. 

    Loughner risked a very different outcome if he didn't reach an agreement that eliminated his risk of execution.


    From the prosecution's perspective, a life sentence achieves many of the goals of a death sentence. An effective life sentence — whether it is phrased as a life sentence, several life sentences or a sentence of several hundred years —is no lenient alternative to death. 

    And such a sentence protects society. Our penal institutions are capable of detaining men on death row for many years, meaning those prisons can hold similar men into their geriatric years. 

    There are also financial advantages to life sentences. Counterintuitively, life sentences are typically cheaper than death sentences because of the greater complexity of capital cases. 

    Opponents of the death penalty contend that it legitimizes violence, but it offers substantial incentives for defendants to reach agreements that avoid extraordinarily expensive and psychologically taxing trials. The criminal justice system's strong interest in such alternatives may mean the death penalty lingers long after there's a consensus that there's a better way to punish violent criminals.

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