November 8, 2012

"Mr. Loughner, for the first and last time, you are going to hear directly from Gabby and me about what you took away on January 8th, 2011..."

"... and, just as important, what you did not. So pay attention."
... Mr. Loughner, by making death and producing tragedy, you sought to extinguish the beauty of life. To diminish potential. To strain love. And to cancel ideas. You tried to create for all of us a world as dark
 and evil as your own.

 But know this, and remember it always: You failed....

Even amid all that was lost, Gabby and I give thanks for her life, her spirit, and her intellect, which are a continued force in this world despite what you’ve done....

Mr. Loughner, pay close attention to this: Though you are mentally ill, you are responsible for the death and hurt you inflicted upon all of us on January 8th of last year. You know this. Gabby and I know this.

 Everyone in this courtroom knows this.

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.

19 comments:

edutcher said...

No, he got what he wanted.

His picture on the electric Internet.

Welcome to the celebrity "culture".

Dante said...

The guy isn't going to be executed?

Why not?

Hagar said...

Mr. kelly is not my favorite husband.

Rusty said...

No Mary. This needed to be said.

Mr. Loughner, you may have put a bullet through her head, but you haven’t put a dent in her spirit and her commitment to make the world a better place.

She has a spirit to admire.

campy said...

I bet Lochner could have walked if he'd said Palin ordered the hit.

Methadras said...

May Loughner rot in hell for all eternity. I have little to no sympathy for the mentally insane you decide to kill. When has committing murder become the home of the mentally insane? Why must the mentally insane resort to murder as their first option. Kill yourself, don't kill others.

Chuck said...

Quick; how many people can remember the name of the federal judge who was murdered in this case?

People can name Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, and her her husband; they can tell you when she took her first steps, and what she was wearing at the Democratic National Convention, and that her BFF is Debbie Wasserman-Schultz.

David said...

"To strain love."

Well, that's honest.

I guess.

Did Ms. Giffords need to hear that?

Again?

Lyle said...

Does Jared Loughner have the ability to pay attention?

Lyle said...

Does Jared Loughner have the ability to pay attention?

LoafingOaf said...

Just because they gave him medications and treatment in jail to make him competent to stand trial doesn't change the fact he was severely mentally ill when he committed the shooting. Lots of people, including administrators at his school, were aware of his mental illness, but they all did nothing. So a man running around showing suffering from the schizophrenia was able to get a gun and shoot a bunch of people. Then they give him a bunch of medications so he could plead guilty and they could tell him he'll rot in hell.

m stone said...

I agree with Mary. This speech, probably not even with input from Gabby, did not need to be said.

In addition, Kelly writes:

In this state we have elected officials so feckless in their leadership that they would say, as in the case of Governor Jan Brewer, “I don't think it has anything to do with the size of the magazine or the caliber of the gun.”

Also, misplaced bitterness.

James Pawlak said...

Most of those at that shooting site were such Democrats as "wouldn't be caught dead" carrying a pistol for self defense--And they were.

Peter V. Bella said...

Man, how many times do we have to hear about Giffords. Seesh. It is not like she did anything heroic. She was just the victim of a crime. What next a statue on the mall for her?

HT said...

I like it, just take out "even though you're mentally ill."

He hasn't changed. Meds are sedatives. He still wants to kill, he's just a little more calm. He regrets that he did not get his target.

Geoff Matthews said...

So, what about the less-famous people who were shot by him? Don't they matter?
The man should be hung from the neck until he is dead, mental illness or not.

Michael K said...

One positive, that we will never see in California, is a verdict of "guilty and insane."

"So a man running around showing suffering from the schizophrenia was able to get a gun and shoot a bunch of people."

His mother is a local political type and friend of the sheriff (since defeated). She kept the authorities away.

DEEBEE said...

A couple of word about the darkness he produced in half the voyeurs that blamed the other half for his acts, would have been nice too.

Laura said...

No, keep "even though you're mentally ill," and add "and deemed dismissible in your prior disturbing interactions as a citizen with said Senator."