August 5, 2012

(JTA) — Jared Lee Loughner, charged with the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the death of six others, reportedly will plead guilty to last year’s shooting rampage.

At a hearing scheduled for Tuesday, Loughner is expected to change his plea to guilty, Politico reported Sunday, citing the Los Angeles Times as first reporting it Saturday night.

The change in plea is reported to be in exchange for a plea bargain which would see Loughner sent to prison for life, but avoiding the death penalty.

Loughner has been declared mentally competent to understand the charges against him, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Six people were killed and a dozen injured in the Jan. 8, 2011 attack in Tucson.

Giffords, the first Jewish woman elected to the Congress from Arizona, was shot in the head and continues to undergo intensive therapy.

Loughner had pleaded not guilty to 49 charges connected with the shooting. He has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

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