By Carol J. Williams
Los Angeles Times
Originally published March 5, 2012
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| Jared Lee Loughner |
Reporting from Los Angeles — Tucson shooting suspect Jared Lee Loughner can be forcibly medicated with antipsychotic drugs, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.
In a 2-1 ruling, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said prison authorities have the right to treat an inmate who would otherwise be a danger to himself or others around him.
Loughner, 23, has been charged with 49 felony counts in the Jan. 8, 2011, shooting rampage outside of a Tucson supermarket in which six people were killed and 13 others injured, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. The congresswoman was holding a meet-the-public event when the shooter attacked.
Loughner’s defense attorneys had objected to his being forcibly treated with antipsychotic drugs. They argued that because he is a pretrial detainee who has not been convicted of any crime that he has the right to refuse medication that he believes could harm or kill him.
