(JTA) — Jared Lee Loughner, charged with the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the deaths of six people, reportedly will change his plea to guilty.
At a hearing scheduled for Tuesday, Loughner is expected to plead guilty, Politico reported Sunday, citing the Los Angeles Times as first reporting it Saturday night. He had pleaded not guilty to 49 charges connected with the shooting.
The change is reported to be in exchange for a plea bargain that would see Loughner sent to prison for life but avoiding the death penalty.
Loughner, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, has been declared mentally competent to understand the charges against him, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Six people were killed and a dozen injured in the Jan. 8, 2011 shooting rampage in Tucson.
Giffords, the first Jewish woman elected to the Congress from Arizona, was shot in the head and continues to undergo intensive therapy.
