Gabrielle Giffords faces Tucson shooter Jared Lee Loughner in court

Gabrielle Giffords has attended court to see Jared Lee Loughner, the gunman who shot her in Arizona last year, sentenced to life in prison.

Jared Lee Loughner shot congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in the head and killed six others.

Gabrielle Giffords attended the hearing with her husband, Mark Kelly, who spoke to Jared Lee Loughner directly and told him that the shooting had changed his wife’s life but had not dented her spirit.

Jared Lee Loughner pleaded guilty to 19 counts in a deal to spare him the death penalty.

He is expected to spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole.

It was the first time Jared Lee Loughner, who did not speak at Thursday’s hearing, had faced his victims in court.

Mark Kelly said: “You may have put a bullet through her head, but you haven’t put a dent in her spirit and commitment to make the world a better place.

“Although you were mentally ill, you were responsible. You have decades upon decades to contemplate what you did, but from this moment, Gabby and I are done thinking about you.”

In addition to the six fatalities, a total of 13 people were wounded in the January 2011 shooting at an outdoor political meeting in Tucson.

Earlier, court-appointed experts said Jared Lee Loughner suffered from schizophrenia and delusions.

In May 2011, his case was put on hold as he was deemed unfit to stand trial.

But that ruling was reversed after Jared Lee Loughner went through more than a year of treatment in prison.

Among those due to address the Tucson hearing are Suzi Hileman, who was shot three times while trying to save her nine-year-old neighbor.

“He has to pay the consequences for what he did, and justice will be served,” Suzi Hileman told the Associated Press news agency.

Mavy Stoddard, whose husband died shielding her from bullets, was also scheduled to speak.

Gabrielle Giffords resigned from Congress in January 2012 to focus on her recovery.

Her former aide, Ron Barber, also wounded in the attack, served out the rest of her term after winning a special election. He is also due to address Thursday’s hearing.

On Tuesday, Ron Barber ran in the election for a newly-created congressional district in Arizona.

The full result has yet to be announced.