I truly hope Giffords makes it, as well as all the mourning families see that justice is and will be served. This may be a silly question but does Arizona utilize the death penalty? I know here in Texas the death penalty is something that isn't a topic that is tip toed around.

It wouldn't matter, this is a federal offense. He's being charged by the federal government. He allegedly killed a Federal judge and attempted to assassinate a Congresswoman. This isn't the jurisdiction of the Arizona legal system.

This is one of those times where I don't feel the need to say allegedly...

I know what you mean...I keep having to go back and add it because I don't naturally put it. He was caught red handed.

Sidetrack...

I had no idea that it was possible to be shot in the head and still survive. I was extremely relieved to learn this, but I'm confused at how this actually works. Does anyone in the medical field know more about these types of situations?

/Sidetrack

I am not a physician, but I am a speech pathologist whose speciality area was working with individuals who had traumatic brain injuries. My 10 years experience spanned from ICU, to inpatient rehab, to outpatient/return to work rehab. I saw individuals with gun shot wounds daily.

People survive shootings every day, but "survival" should never imply "returns to normal function." That is a long and arduous road that many never see the end of. Being able to survive, and subsequently the level of functional recovery attained, has many factors:
--- gauge of the gun that was used
--- time post injury that someone was able to receive medical aid
--- amount of swelling in the brain that occurs before and after surgery
--- length of time in coma
--- trajectory of the bullet. Keeping the bullet on one side of the brain causes less damage than a bullet that crosses into the other hemisphere
-- location of the bullet/damage. Different areas of the brain are responsible for different cognitive and motor funtions, and depending on what specific areas were hit will impact the deficits that one has. It is possible to completely miss all key areas, but this would be the exception rather than the rule.
-- extent of the damage caused by the bullet and shattered bone fragments

By no means am I making ANY presumptions about this case. I wish nothing but the best for her. I just caution all who listen to media reports that individuals with brain injuries may be "raising two fingers" (blech!) as that sign does not mean anything in terms of long term recovery. I have seen some VERY imparied people raise their two fingers for the physicans. It means that one is alive and able to hear, but really means little in terms of *functional* recovery of someone with a brain injury. Have I seen individuals recover to the point of returning to their prior job? You bet. Have I seen many others who were required to live an adaptive lifestyle? Sadly, yes.

Again, not making ANY assumptions on her. Just stating that we should all be cautious in interpreting media reports.

Thanks for the information, Blondie93!

Blondie93 has done a superb job of explaining the ramifications of a brain injury.

I do know this: it was a left hemisphere through-and-through shot, reportedly back to front, exiting above the left eye. Rep. Giffords is being kept in a medically induced coma. The neurosurgeon spoke at this morning's press conference and described her injury with enough medical precision that I, as another speech-language pathologist, could follow and I have an idea of the path the bullet took. It was, however, difficult for the media to understand, and he stopped himself from being specific or answering many detailed questions. A section of her left skull has been removed (and will be replaced when the time comes) in an effort to reduce the impact of the swelling. There are other medical procedures that can be implemented to reduce or minimize the impact of the brain swelling which has and will occur as a result of the insult the brain suffered. She is not out of any woods yet; the doctors outlined a very long recovery and rehabilitation period, which also leads me to believe that there was some significant brain injury incurred.

UMC is a Level One Trauma center and I am confident that Rep. Giffords received exceptional medical treatment. It was 38 minutes from the time she was shot until she entered the OR. The EMTs stabilized and transported her without doing any unnecessary procedures that could have negatively impacted the operation she underwent, according to the Trauma Surgeon and Neurosurgeon who spoke. However, those 38 minutes... no way to tell what the long term effects are going to be, just as Blondie93 stated.

Keep all the survivors in prayer; theirs is a long road ahead.

My uncle is a judge for the Arizona Superior Court in Pima County and my aunt is an attorney for the City of Tucson; they were both very close with Judge Roll. My cousin (who goes to school in DC but was home in Tucson for winter break) was an intern for Giffords over the summer. I called them Saturday to check in and they were all sobbing. I'm still rather shaken up after hearing just how close to home this hit for them.

My prayers are with Giffords for a miraculous recovery and with the families and loved ones of all of the victims.

A close family friend had a TBI and the road to recovery was long and slow and he never did fully recover :( He was in a coma for about a month or so, maybe a bit less. He was at Metro, which has an excellent neuro area around here. He never regained full mental capacities, especially in math skills. He never could finish college because of it. He's able to lead an almost completely normal life though.

A well known dressage rider suffered a TBI. She fell off a horse and wasn't wearing a helmet. (Not saying a helmet would have definitively prevented any injury though!) She's on the road to recovery now and though she is starting back with some theraputic riding, it is still too soon to tell how much she will be able to do. It's such a shame. Shameless plug: Please wear a properly fitted helmet! It may not prevent an injury but it's better than nothing!

All my prayers are with the families of the victims.

Of course, blunt and penetrating brain injury are very different creatures. Her main problem, other than the risk of secondary brain injury, is the direct trauma to her speech center. There is a long road ahead for Rep. Giffords recovery, and it will be a long while before we know what permanent neuro deficits she sustained in this assault. For now, she is lucky to be alive with the ability to process simple commands. It will be interesting to see what they report when she is extubated.

Fiance just got an email from his aunt, who is an attorney in Tucson. She is/was close with both Gabby Giffords and Judge Roll, and is extremely distraught over what happened. Turns out she was supposed to be at that event, but decided not to attend that morning. That Safeway is just around the corner from her, and where she shops every week. I think we're both a little shaken, as we had all assumed she was at her home in Mexico at the time.

Weapon in rampage was banned under Clinton-era law

The high-capacity magazine of the semiautomatic pistol used in the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and more than a dozen other people on Saturday would have been illegal to manufacture and difficult to purchase under the Clinton-era assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004.

According to police and media reports, the alleged shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, legally purchased a semiautomatic Glock 19 with a high-capacity magazine in November at a gun store in Tucson. Under the assault weapons ban, it was illegal to manufacture or sell new high-capacity magazines, defined as those that hold more than 10 rounds. The magazines used by Loughner had 31 rounds each, according to police.

If Loughner had been using a traditional magazine, "it would have drastically reduced the number of shots he got off before he had to pause, unload and reload -- and he could have been stopped," Daniel Vice, senior attorney at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, tells Salon.

http://www.salon.com/news/gabrielle_...lt_weapons_ban