Posted on 07/21/2011 2:04:51 PM PDT by markomalley
Lawyers for the suspect in the Tucson shooting rampage say prison officials have resumed forcibly medicating their client with a psychotropic drug.
Jared Lee Loughner's attorneys in filings Thursday questioned whether the forced medication violates an earlier order by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that forbid them from involuntarily medicating Loughner as the court mulls an appeal on his behalf.
The filings say officials at the federal prison facility in Missouri resumed the forced medication on an emergency basis because Loughner had become an immediate threat to himself.
Loughner's attorneys say their client has been on 24-hour suicide watch, but he denies having suicidal thoughts.
He has pleaded not guilty to 49 charges in the January mass shooting that killed six people and wounded 13 others, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
In a July 12 ruling, the appeals court said Loughner's interest in not suffering the risk of side effects from powerful drugs is stronger than the government's interest in protecting Loughner and those around him in prison. But it noted that authorities can take steps to maintain the safety of prison officials, other inmates or Loughner, including forcibly giving him tranquilizers.
(Excerpt) Read more at old.news.yahoo.com ...
One has to wonder if this isn’t like the Rosemary Kennedy political lobotomy of our era. Kind of convenient that he’s warehoused away for the long term.
They should do everyone a favor and remove the 'watch'.
What are you, as nutty as he is?
Until somebody clearly establishes otherwise, I'm going to operate under the assumption that he's going to continue to be 'medicated' until there's no chance his public pronouncements or revelation threaten to embarass the left. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he comes out of *therapy* admitting that Rush and Sarah did compel him to pull the trigger.
I’d prescribe about 8 feet of nice, soft nylon rope, to be taken as needed.
The entire thing was suspicious in the way it happened and has been handled in the press since. The thing about Loughner is very fishy as well. Hustling him away across the country, just like they whisked Giffords away before she should have been in a plane. If they can medicate enemies of their choosing like this, it’s a slippery slope.
His fear of side-effects trumps the direct fears of everybody around him? How convoluted is that?
I know, I know....SOP at the 9th, but still.
In a room full of 10 foot rafters?
Who cares about what medications he’s receiving? He's a nutburger! He's a schizophrenic! And a homicidal one. Any “revelations” he makes are the ravings of a madman. Anybody that would believe anything that comes out of his mouth would believe anything, period. And if anyone wants to crawl though his ravings to find gems of wisdom, I say to him, hey, go right ahead. We need more wacky conspiracy theories here on Free Republic.
“Id prescribe about 8 feet of nice, soft nylon rope, to be taken as needed.”
“In a room full of 10 foot rafters?”
When was the last time you tied a noose? Try it. Don’t short-sheet yourself, it’s not plesant.
Forcibly medicating a Democrat doesn’t require all that much force. Thanks markomalley.
Obviously you do.
"He's a nutburger! He's a schizophrenic! And a homicidal one."
Then why are they not just committing him instead of trying to make him 'psychologically fit' to stand trial?
Perhaps they want to put him away or execute him. Law says if someone is committed he goes free if there is no reason to hold him.
So the prosecution is bolstering his insanity defense by insisting he's in critical need of psychotropic meds?
No they want him sane enough to stand trial.
The man is crazy. Getting him into a courtroom assures some level of public safty and perhaps a lifetime commitment to a forensic psych unit. Not doing this will get him little to no time. Psych laws dont have teeth here.
look, he is a violent nut who hurts people. I don’t think we should let him drive, and the Tucson police can’t be trusted to write tickets, or drive a golf cart.
It is convenient to lock him up, compared to trying to store him in my bathroom. I am all for that kind of convenience.
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