I watched an update on the progress in Tuscon of the case against Jared Loughner, the young man who shot into the crowd gathered to hear Gabrielle Gifford. He has been deemed incompetent to stand trial at this time. When he eventually goes to trial, his defense will no doubt be "Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity," or whatever the equivalent is in Arizona courts. I do happen to think he's crazy as a bedbug, but I also believe this is no reason he should not be punished in some manner for his actions. That said, let me move on to what I am disturbed about.
He is being medicated against his will to get him to a mental state that will make him competent to assist in his own defense. No doubt this forcible medication had to be administered after a court order was obtained. This is a slippery slope akin to chipping away at 2nd Amendment rights by banning certain firearms or specific magazines. Free speech rights granted by the 1st Amendment being eroded by censorship in the guise of pornography laws and so called "Hate Speech" legislation is another example.
This action by the Arizona judicial authorities is just too reminiscent of Nazi judges ordering sterilization for "undesirables" and the imprisonment under the guise of hospitalization and unnecessary psychiatric medication of Communist dissidents for my comfort level. While I am generally opposed to granting accused and convicted criminals yet more rights, this worries me.
I think our Constitution and the Bill of Rights need to be rigorously observed and defended. This type of court action needs further debate and much more thought.
