Jared Lee Loughner, the suspected gunman in the shooting that injured former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and killed six people in Arizona, was denied by a federal court to halt forced medication to end his treatment at a medical facility, according to reports.
The 23-year-old will continue to receive medication to help restore his fitness for a possible trial, reported Reuters.
“It is clear that Loughner has a severe mental illness, that he represents a danger to himself or others, and that the prescribed medication is appropriate and in his medical interest,” Judge Jay Bybee of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wrote, according to the news agency.
Bybee added, “Loughner has made no argument beyond his own comfort level to demonstrate the superiority of judicially directed hearings over medically directed hearings,” according to The Associated Press.
In the past, Loughner displayed strange behavior in court. It was ruled in the past that Loughner was not mentally fit to stand trial but there is a possibility that he could stand trial.
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