Jury Might See Loughner Videos
The New York Times reports:
TUCSON — Videotaped messages recovered from a computer at the home of Jared L. Loughner, the man accused of opening fire at a congresswoman’s public event in Tucson last month, could mean that a jury will hear from Mr. Loughner in his own words even though he is unlikely to testify at trial, law enforcement officials said.
In addition to written statements by Mr. Loughner found at his residence, investigators have retrieved a cache of video recordings in which he expounds on a variety of topics and mentions assassination, a law enforcement official close to the investigation said.
“There are a lot of face-in-the-camera videos,” said the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the case. “In some, he’s talking about assassinations, but I don’t think he mentions her,” the official said, referring to Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who was critically wounded in the deadly attack and is considered its main target.
While the legal proceedings against Mr. Loughner are still in their infancy, prosecutors are researching a legal theory that would support federal charges against Mr. Loughner for the shooting of all 19 victims, two law enforcement officials said. Six people died, including a federal judge, and 13 were injured.
Initially, Mr. Loughner has been charged in Federal District Court with the attempted murders of Ms. Giffords and two of her Congressional aides, all of whom are considered federal officials who were performing federal duties when they were shot outside a Safeway supermarket that Saturday morning. Mr. Loughner, 22, who was tackled by bystanders, has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors have suggested that Mr. Loughner would be prosecuted separately in state court for the attacks on other victims who were private citizens. But doing so would create two classes of victims, which concerns federal prosecutors handling the case.
“There is something troubling about having to distinguish between the people who were at the event,” a Justice Department official said. “They were all participating in an event of democracy. If this happened in her district office and a person came in and blew everyone away, we could have jurisdiction, no?”
