TODAY   |  August 08, 2012

Loughner pleads guilty in Tucson massacre

Jared Lee Loughner will spend the rest of his life in jail for killing six people and wounding others, including then-Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, during a 2011 shooting rampage in Arizona. NBC’s Miguel Almaguer reports.

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This content comes from Closed Captioning that was broadcast along with this program.

>> in prison awaits jarred lee loughner after the 23-year-old pled guilty to the 2011 massacre in tucson. miguel almaguer was in the courtroom when it all happened. miguel, good morning.

>> natalie, good morning. for the first time jarred lee loughner was in court and engaged with the judge. he took responsibility for the massacre and pled guilty. nineteen months after the attempted assassination of congresswoman gabrielle giffords that left six dead and many more wounded, the judge asked jared lee loughner if he understood, taking responsibility for the deadly attack.

>> yes, i understand, avoiding the death penalty entering a guilty plea . the judge asked, do you have a clear mind, a clear head. yes, loughner answered, i do.

>> jared loughner will spend the remainder of his life in prison . he will never be able to harm the tucson community or any other community again.

>> reporter: before he was questioned by the judge, the doctor treating the 23-year-old said while he suffers from schizophrenia, he is mentally competent. she testified loughner told her he was remorseful for what he did. loughner saying i wish i never had those thoughts and he especially cried about the child, a reference to the youngest victim nine-year-old green. in court, survivors wiped back tears.

>> we need to move forward and make sure good comes out of this.

>> it's not a perfect solution . the perfect solution is one that we can't have.

>> reporter: gabby gifford who wasn't in court said she was satisfied with a plea. in a statement her husband wrote, she hopes the community can move forward and heal. natalie.