WASHINGTON — Jared Lee Loughner is set to plead guilty Tuesday in the shooting attack that severely wounded then Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, according to knowledgeable sources, as mental health officials believe he is now competent to understand the charges against him in the assault, which killed six people and injured 13 at a gathering with the congresswoman's constituents in Tucson.
At the hearing Tuesday morning in U.S. District Court in Tucson, psychiatric experts who have examined Loughner, 23, are scheduled to testify that they have concluded that despite wide swings in his mental capacity, at this time he comprehends what happened and acknowledges the gravity of the charges, according to two sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case was still unfolding.
The terms of the plea arrangement remained unclear Saturday on whether Loughner would admit guilt to all or some of the charges in return for a lengthy prison sentence rather than risk a potential death penalty verdict at trial.
State prosecutors in Tucson initially said they would pursue charges against Loughner as well, but the federal government went first. They now would probably review their options and decide whether it would be wise to go forward.
Many of the victims of the Jan. 8, 2011, attack and their families are likely to attend the hearing in downtown Tucson, not far from the site of the attack during Giffords' Congress On Your Corner event. Survivors would be invited to testify about the assault and their injuries at a separate hearing yet to be scheduled, in which Loughner would be formally sentenced.
At the hearing Tuesday morning in U.S. District Court in Tucson, psychiatric experts who have examined Loughner, 23, are scheduled to testify that they have concluded that despite wide swings in his mental capacity, at this time he comprehends what happened and acknowledges the gravity of the charges, according to two sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case was still unfolding.
The terms of the plea arrangement remained unclear Saturday on whether Loughner would admit guilt to all or some of the charges in return for a lengthy prison sentence rather than risk a potential death penalty verdict at trial.
State prosecutors in Tucson initially said they would pursue charges against Loughner as well, but the federal government went first. They now would probably review their options and decide whether it would be wise to go forward.
Many of the victims of the Jan. 8, 2011, attack and their families are likely to attend the hearing in downtown Tucson, not far from the site of the attack during Giffords' Congress On Your Corner event. Survivors would be invited to testify about the assault and their injuries at a separate hearing yet to be scheduled, in which Loughner would be formally sentenced.