The judge overseeing the deadly Tucson mass shooting case on Monday scheduled competency and change of plea hearings for defendant Jared Lee Loughner.
U.S. District Judge Alan Burns scheduling order confirms that a plea deal has been reached in the shooting that left six dead and former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 12 others wounded
Before Loughner can enter the plea, Burns must find that Loughner is mentally competent and understands what is happening. The hearings are set for Tuesday morning in Tucson.
Loughner has spent more than a year in a federal medical facility in Missouri being treated for mental illness.
Loughner had pleaded not guilty to 49 federal charges stemming from the Jan. 8, 2011, shooting outside a Tucson Safeway where Giffords was holding a meet-and-greet with constituents.
Burns had ruled that Loughner wasn’t psychologically fit to stand trial, but that he could be made ready for trial after treatment.
Experts have concluded that Loughner suffers from schizophrenia.
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