TUCSON, Ariz. — A federal judge has unsealed about 60 documents in the 2011 Tucson shooting rampage that wounded former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, but some 20 other records will remain under wraps because of privacy issues.
Most of the documents that U.S. District Judge Larry Burns ruled must remain sealed contain confidential reports from the Bureau of Prisons about Jared Lee Loughner, who was charged in the case.
Burns' seven-page ruling released Friday said some of the documents "were not made publicly available because they contained Mr. Loughner's confidential medical information along with internal BOP records and correspondences.
"These documents may remain sealed to protect Mr. Loughner's medical privacy," Burns wrote.
Others documents staying sealed include prison records pertaining to Loughner's mental evaluation, notes from his prison psychologist, correspondences between lawyers, defense attorney strategy in the case and information about Loughner's parents.
Loughner, 24, was sentenced in November to seven consecutive life sentences, plus 140 years, after he pleaded guilty to 19 federal charges in the Tucson shooting that left six people dead and 13 others wounded, including Giffords.
The rampage occurred at a Giffords' meet-and-greet with her constituents outside a Tucson supermarket on Jan. 8, 2011.
Giffords was shot once in the head. The Arizona Democrat resigned from Congress last year as she continues to recover from her injuries.
