Feds Want Psych Exam for Loughner
The New York Times reports:
Prosecutors asked a federal judge on Monday night to order Jared L. Loughner, the suspect in the Tucson shooting spree, to undergo psychiatric testing to determine if he is competent to stand trial.
“The defendant’s online postings are indicative of an individual who may have mental issues,” prosecutors said of Mr. Loughner, who was indicted last week on 49 felony counts, including murder and attempted murder.
Judy Clarke, Mr. Loughner’s lawyer, asked for a delay in the start of the trial until January 2013, because of the complexity of the issues involved; Judge Larry A. Burns of Federal District Court had tentatively set the trial for September.
Ms. Clarke said no trial date should be set until prosecutors disclosed whether they intended to seek the death penalty against Mr. Loughner. Included in the defense court motions were statements from legal experts saying that, in the defense team’s words, “no lawyer or team of lawyers could be ready to defend Mr. Loughner by September 2011 — no matter how hard they work between now and then.”
Prosecutors told the court that Mr. Loughner, using the name “Fallenasleep,” posted a photograph on his MySpace account featuring what appeared to be a Glock semiautomatic pistol, the same kind used in the Tucson shooting, on top of a United States history book. Also in the photo was an image of the White House and the faces of American presidents, prosecutors said.
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