In a recent article about the shooting in Arizona, the "alleged" shooter's plea was not guilty. I am pasting it below because I feel that it is worth reading. But what I focused on was the end where it discussed the need for testing to determine if he was able to stand trial due to his mental state.
I don't really know if I find the actions of a killer more irrational, or that an attorney may use any underlying mental illness as a crutch to manipulate this case further. It is for you to judge. I just question the actual motives of any attorney who would make a statement as such in the last line of this article as much as I would tend to question the motives of the killer.
By MARC LACEY Published: March 9, 2011
TUCSON — Some of those hit by bullets in the Tucson shooting spree got their first glimpse since that day of the man accused of pulling the trigger as Jared L. Loughner, shackled and wearing a tan prison jumpsuit, pleaded not guilty in federal court here on Wednesday to 49 counts stemming from the shooting.
“It was an emotional proceeding,” said Michael Piccarreta, a longtime friend of Judge John M. Roll of Federal District Court, one of the six people killed in the Jan. 8 shooting. Mr. Piccarreta, a lawyer, attended the hearing on behalf of the Roll family and he greeted others who were there, including Bill D. Badger, a retired Army colonel who was slightly wounded and who helped subdue Mr. Loughner, and Susan Hileman, who was shot three times and who followed the proceedings from a wheelchair.
The hearing took place in the same federal courthouse, one floor up, from where Judge Roll’s chambers used to be. Down the hall was a memorial for the fallen judge, decorated with bouquets of flowers.
Judge Larry A. Burns of Federal District Court in San Diego, who was appointed to the case after Arizona judges recused themselves, said Wednesday that he had questions about Mr. Loughner’s mental competency and he ordered psychological tests and a hearing to determine whether Mr. Loughner fully understood the charges against him.
Mr. Loughner, 22, his once-shaved head now covered with brown hair and long sideburns, smiled through much of the proceeding, as he has done in previous court appearances. He spoke only once, when asked by a clerk if his name was Jared Lee Loughner. “Yes, it is,” he replied.
It was not clear whether Mr. Loughner noticed that his father was in the crowded courtroom. Like others who attended, Randy Loughner left the courtroom without comment.
Judy Clarke, Jared Loughner’s lawyer, had opposed the prosecution’s request for the court to order psychological tests, saying they could interfere with her ability to establish a rapport with her client. But Judge Burns said that evidence submitted by the prosecution, including postings on the Internet, raised questions about his mental state.
Wallace H. Kleindienst, an assistant United States attorney, argued that tests should be conducted soon so that court proceedings would not continue needlessly if Mr. Loughner is ruled unable to stand trial. Arguing that Mr. Loughner has “severe mental issues” that need to be evaluated, Mr. Kleindienst said that there was evidence that Mr. Loughner distrusts courts and judges, believes the C.I.A. and F.B.I. are investigating him and has been hearing voices.
“Certainly every murder is irrational, but this one is more irrational than others,” Mr. Kleindienst said.
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