A devout Catholic
and a respected federal judge,
John Roll was also a close
friend to Congresswoman
Gabrielle Giffords.
He was shot to death as he dropped by to see
her at a constituents' meeting outside a north
Tucson grocery store last Saturday, on his way
home from mass. His funeral is on Friday
morning.
Among six people killed when a college dropout
pumped bullet after bullet into a crowd outside
the Safeway store, Roll was a highly respected
jurist.
He joined the federal bench in 1991 after being
nominated by President George Bush, on the
recommendation of Arizona Republican Senator
John McCain.
He rose to become the senior federal judge in the
Mexico border state, where his fairness and rigor
won him high regard among trial lawyers.
Twenty-two-year-old Jared Lee Loughner was
arrested for the shootings.
He made a first appearance in a court in Phoenix
on Monday, on five federal charges, including the
attempted assassination of Giffords, who remains
in critical condition in a Tucson hospital.
Roll's colleagues recused themselves from
hearing the trial, on the grounds that their
impartiality could be questioned.
The private funeral is scheduled to be held at 10
a.m. at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the same Catholic
Church where a service for 9-year-old Christina
Green, the youngest shooting victim, was held
on Thursday.
Hundreds of mourners, among them classmates
and leather clad bikers, turned out to say silent
farewells to the bright, lively youngster who was
remembered for her love of singing and baseball
and an interest in learning about politics.
Her short life was celebrated by President Barack
Obama in an emotional memorial address on
Wednesday, in which he told thousands of
people crammed into a Tucson sports stadium
he wanted democracy and America to be as
good as Christina had imagined them.
Source: Http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE70D2MG20110114
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