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.
Gabrielle Giffords has attended court to see Jared Lee Loughner, the gunman who shot her in Arizona last year, sentenced to life in prison
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.
Gabrielle Giffords returned after seven months for her vote.
[googlead tip=”vertical_mediu” aliniat=”stanga”]The full number of votes on the historic debt-limit bill was 430.
One of the votes has been the most important one.
Gabrielle Giffords
The republican Gabrielle Giffords returned to the House on Monday to cast her vote after 7 months since she was shot in the head. Lots of applause and hugs from Gabrielle Giffords Republican and Democratic colleagues greeted her.
Gabrielle Giffords’ entrance, with just minutes remaining in the vote, surprised lawmakers and added even more drama to a high-stakes day. The Arizona Democrat responded to the attention with a smile, and she mouthed “thank you” several times.
Gabrielle Giffords used one hand to greet people and the other one by her side. Gabrielle Giffords hair was dark and closely cropped, and she wore glasses.
Gabrielle Giffords cast her vote for the debt-limit bill, which finally passed 269 to 161.
“She is a model for the attitude that we should all have because she is tenacious and she is relentless in her love for America. … You were missed and we’re glad to have you back,”
said Republican Ted Poe, R-Texas.
Gabrielle Giffords exited the House chamber by the east door, leaning slowly on an aide as she stepped with obvious difficulty. Her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, accompanied her. Police had cleared a path throughout hundreds of reporters, and Gabrielle Giffords did not respond to questions or greetings.
Close to the doorway to the House, Vice President Joe Biden greeted Gabrielle Giffords and marveled at her return.
“She’s remarkable. Will matters,”
Biden said in an interview.
“She’s the embodiment of a strong, strong, strong woman. Think about what that woman’s been through, and think about her determination.”
On January 8,2011, Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head
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in the parking area of a Tucson grocery store while meeting with constituents. Six persons have been killed and 13 others, including Gabrielle Giffords, were wounded. Jared Lee Loughner, the man charged in this event, was sent to a federal prison facility in Springfield, after a federal judge concluded he was mentally incompetent to stand trial on 49 charges.
At the moment Biden hugged Gabrielle Giffords, Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., joined them.
“Sure, I like Michele Bachmann. We’re all standing there and Michele walks up to see Gabby, because she cares about her,”
Biden said.
Gabrielle Giffords issued a news release after the vote — the only thing typical in an atypical day.
“I have closely followed the debate over our debt ceiling and have been deeply disappointed at what’s going on in Washington,” Gabrielle Giffords said in the statement.
“I strongly believe that crossing the aisle for the good of the American people is more important than party politics. I had to be here for this vote. I could not take the chance that my absence could crash our economy,”
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