When I first saw this picture of the charged Tuscon shooter, I literally got chills! It doesn't surprise me that his attorneys will cite mental illness as the defense, here's what the New York Times has to say:

Even if that is found to be true, the lawyers for Mr. Loughner, the 22-year-old college dropout who has been charged in the Tucson shootings, may find it difficult to mount a successful insanity defense.

The rules regarding such a legal strategy were tightened over the years in the wake of the verdict for John W. Hinckley Jr., who was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan. The insanity argument is now seldom successful, legal experts said.

What is more likely, they say, is that Mr. Loughner’s lawyers will use any mental health problems they find to stave off the death penalty, if he should go to trial and be convicted.

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