What Loughner was reading before the shootings

Everyone from TIME magazine to John Q Public seems to believe that Loughner is crazy. But how crazy is a guy who researchers political assassinations, lethal injection and solitary confinement in the days before he pulls the trigger? Sources are reporting that the man who shot Congresswoman Giffords surfed the net for information on just those subjects before he acted.

Section 4.01 of the Model Penal Code provides this definition of insanity as a defense to a crime: "A person is not responsible for criminal conduct if at the time of such conduct, as a result of mental disease or defect, he lacks substantial capacity either to appreciate the criminality (wrongfulness) of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law."

Let me suggest that a guy who studies political assassinations, lethal injection and solitary confinement appreciated perfectly the wrongfulness of what he intended to do.

In a recent case --- Clark v. Arizona, 548 US 735 (2006) --- the U.S. Supreme Court held:

Arizona's Mott rule, allowing admission of testimony of professional psychologist or psychiatrist about a defendant's diminished capacity due to mental disease or defect for its bearing on insanity defense, but precluding use of such evidence to negate mens rea element of a crime, did not violate due process; Arizona was free to chose its standard of legal insanity and place burden of persuasion on defendant claiming incapacity, and rule served to avoid confusion and misunderstanding on part of jurors. U.S.C.A. Const.Amend. 14.

Under Arizona's Mott rule, blessed in 2006 by the Supremes, Loughner's lawyers would be allowed to argue diminished capacity and present expert testimony to support their contention. But, at best, this would probably go only to whether Loughner gets life in prison (solitary confinement?) or the death penalty (lethal injection?).

The Washington Post reported, "[P]rosecutors hope to use the information they have found on Loughner's computer, along with notes seized in his home, to indicate that he wasn't insane and knew right from wrong. They have turned over to the defense the information they obtained from the computer, as well as discs containing about 250 interviews conducted by investigators, according to the newspaper.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/01/26/report-suspect-did-research-ariz-shootings/#ixzz1CSRvN6Ha

This guy is weird. But is he crazy? It doesn't look that way to me... not so far.

For more on the insanity defense: