Illegal immigrant convicted in Laken Riley murder pushes for new trial as judge delays ruling

[Doc7505]

Illegal immigrant convicted in Laken Riley murder pushes for new trial as judge delays ruling​

Jose Ibarra's legal team claims he was not competent to stand trial for the 2024 murder that became central to Trump's immigration campaign​

Illegal immigrant convicted in Laken Riley murder pushes for new trial as judge delays ruling

Convicted killer Jose Ibarra seeks new trial in Laken Riley murder case that sparked national immigration debate. The illegal immigrant appears Friday in court.

www.foxnews.com

30 Jan 2026 ~~ By Stepheny Price

The illegal immigrant convicted of murdering nursing student Laken Riley sought a new trial Friday, with a judge declining to rule after hearing arguments.
Jose Ibarra, who is serving life in prison without the possibility of parole, appeared in Athens-Clarke County Superior Court, where Judge Patrick Haggard heard arguments from Ibarra’s post-conviction attorneys and declined to rule from the bench.
Haggard ordered both sides to submit supplementary briefs and responses by Monday, March 2, before he decides whether a new trial is warranted.
~Snip~
During the hearing, Haggard said a court-ordered mental evaluation reviewed by the court found Ibarra was competent at the time of the crime and during his 2024 trial, rejecting a central argument raised by the defense.
~Snip~
Ibarra was found guilty on all 10 counts in November 2024 for the Feb. 22, 2024, killing of Riley, 22, who was attacked while running on the University of Georgia campus. Prosecutors said Riley died during a violent struggle with Ibarra.



Commentary:
The defense is just tilting at windmills.
His DNA tells the story.
I would think that his brother would have been eliminated by alibi too.
If this reporter was any good he would have said that one way or the other.
While Democrats keep telling us that under Trump illegal aliens in the U.S. have no rights because they ARE NOT citizens of our land.
So, what the heck is going on?
Do illegal aliens have the same rights under the law as all American Citizens?
Illegal aliens are criminals when they cross the border into the U.S. In this case he committed murder and is tried under America law.
Georgia has the death penalty. Surprisingly he given a life sentence. Cases like his are the reason that there are death penalty states. What possible value could his life have, what future could he expect, what reason for housing him for 50 years?
Georgia uses Lethal injection today, perhaps they should go back to execution by hanging. The gallows and rope are reusable.

 

[TroglocratsRdumb]

Notice that Left is not calling Jose Ibarra a racist or a nazi, or even complaining about him.

 

[candycorn]

Illegal immigrant convicted in Laken Riley murder pushes for new trial as judge delays ruling​

Jose Ibarra's legal team claims he was not competent to stand trial for the 2024 murder that became central to Trump's immigration campaign​

Illegal immigrant convicted in Laken Riley murder pushes for new trial as judge delays ruling

Convicted killer Jose Ibarra seeks new trial in Laken Riley murder case that sparked national immigration debate. The illegal immigrant appears Friday in court.

www.foxnews.com

30 Jan 2026 ~~ By Stepheny Price

The illegal immigrant convicted of murdering nursing student Laken Riley sought a new trial Friday, with a judge declining to rule after hearing arguments.
Jose Ibarra, who is serving life in prison without the possibility of parole, appeared in Athens-Clarke County Superior Court, where Judge Patrick Haggard heard arguments from Ibarra’s post-conviction attorneys and declined to rule from the bench.
Haggard ordered both sides to submit supplementary briefs and responses by Monday, March 2, before he decides whether a new trial is warranted.
~Snip~
During the hearing, Haggard said a court-ordered mental evaluation reviewed by the court found Ibarra was competent at the time of the crime and during his 2024 trial, rejecting a central argument raised by the defense.
~Snip~
Ibarra was found guilty on all 10 counts in November 2024 for the Feb. 22, 2024, killing of Riley, 22, who was attacked while running on the University of Georgia campus. Prosecutors said Riley died during a violent struggle with Ibarra.



Commentary:
The defense is just tilting at windmills.
His DNA tells the story.
I would think that his brother would have been eliminated by alibi too.
If this reporter was any good he would have said that one way or the other.

Not the job of the reporter.

While Democrats keep telling us that under Trump illegal aliens in the U.S. have no rights because they ARE NOT citizens of our land.

What democrat is telling you that?

So, what the heck is going on?
Do illegal aliens have the same rights under the law as all American Citizens?

Yes...or at least they should.

Illegal aliens are criminals when they cross the border into the U.S. In this case he committed murder and is tried under America law.

Criminals have rights too dingus.

Georgia has the death penalty. Surprisingly he given a life sentence. Cases like his are the reason that there are death penalty states.

Agreed.

What possible value could his life have, what future could he expect, what reason for housing him for 50 years?
Georgia uses Lethal injection today, perhaps they should go back to execution by hanging. The gallows and rope are reusable.

Capital punishment is a misapplied joke of a product of a barbaric past....but if we’re going to insist on having that barbaric tool in our toolbox...this would be the time to break it out it seems.

That being said, nearly everyone sent to prison tries to get off. Its the job of defense counsel to pursue those avenues.... This can’t possibly be news to you; can it?

 

[IM2]

No, this is not the time for the death sentence. On the same day Riley was murdered, other women were done the same way by homegrown legal American citizens. Nobody paid attention to them because their murder could not be used to race-bait people for political gain. When people talk about race-baiting or race hustling, this is a prime example. Her parents asked you right winger to stop using her death as the OP has done.

You claim to care so much for this girl's life, and yet you cannot respect the wishes of her family. The OP is nothing but a disgusting racist piece of fecal matter.

 

[Doc7505]

Not the job of the reporter.

What democrat is telling you that?

Yes...or at least they should.

Criminals have rights too dingus.

Agreed.

Capital punishment is a misapplied joke of a product of a barbaric past....but if we’re going to insist on having that barbaric tool in our toolbox...this would be the time to break it out it seems.

That being said, nearly everyone sent to prison tries to get off. Its the job of defense counsel to pursue those avenues.... This can’t possibly be news to you; can it?

<~~~~~~~~~~>
Democrats and advocacy groups argue that several new policies effectively undermine due process for undocumented immigrants:

• Expedited Removal Expansion: The administration expanded "expedited removal," allowing officials to deport noncitizens found anywhere in the U.S. without a court hearing if they cannot prove continuous presence for at least two years.
• Laken Riley Act: Signed in January 2025, this law mandates the detention of undocumented immigrants charged with certain crimes (like burglary or theft)
• Warrantless Home Entries: A March 2025 directive authorized law enforcement to enter the homes of certain migrants without warrants, a move currently being challenged in court.
• Birthright Citizenship: An executive order issued in early 2025 attempts to deny citizenship to U.S.-born children of undocumented parents, though this faces significant legal opposition based on the Fourteenth Amendment.
• and allows states to sue the federal government over enforcement failures.

 

[Doc7505]

No, this is not the time for the death sentence. On the same day Riley was murdered, other women were done the same way by homegrown legal American citizens. Nobody paid attention to them because their murder could not be used to race-bait people for political gain. When people talk about race-baiting or race hustling, this is a prime example. Her parents asked you right winger to stop using her death as the OP has done.

You claim to care so much for this girl's life, and yet you cannot respect the wishes of her family. The OP is nothing but a disgusting racist piece of fecal matter.

<~~~~~~~~~~>​

 

[Mick2]

No, this is not the time for the death sentence. On the same day Riley was murdered, other women were done the same way by homegrown legal American citizens.

So why do you people kill so many?

 

[tshrimp]

No, this is not the time for the death sentence. On the same day Riley was murdered, other women were done the same way by homegrown legal American citizens. Nobody paid attention to them because their murder could not be used to race-bait people for political gain. When people talk about race-baiting or race hustling, this is a prime example. Her parents asked you right winger to stop using her death as the OP has done.

You claim to care so much for this girl's life, and yet you cannot respect the wishes of her family. The OP is nothing but a disgusting racist piece of fecal matter.

I can't believe you called someone racist. That is a first for you . But love how you guys always victimize the criminals.

 

[JoeB131]

Notice that Left is not calling Jose Ibarra a racist or a nazi, or even complaining about him.

Why should we? He committed a crime, he is in prison for it.

That's the system working the way it's supposed to work.

Now, if he is indeed mentally incompetent and the system steamrolled over him to get a conviction, shame on us. I don't think this is the case. Under the narrow definition of legal insanity, he had the presence of mind to try to hide his crime, so he didn't qualify as insane under the law.

(We can also make the argument that we need to get rid of "Not guilty by reason of insanity" and replace it with "guilty but insane", that's another discussion.)

 

[JoeB131]

<~~~~~~~~~~>
Democrats and advocacy groups argue that several new policies effectively undermine due process for undocumented immigrants:

• Expedited Removal Expansion: The administration expanded "expedited removal," allowing officials to deport noncitizens found anywhere in the U.S. without a court hearing if they cannot prove continuous presence for at least two years.
• Laken Riley Act: Signed in January 2025, this law mandates the detention of undocumented immigrants charged with certain crimes (like burglary or theft)
• Warrantless Home Entries: A March 2025 directive authorized law enforcement to enter the homes of certain migrants without warrants, a move currently being challenged in court.
• Birthright Citizenship: An executive order issued in early 2025 attempts to deny citizenship to U.S.-born children of undocumented parents, though this faces significant legal opposition based on the Fourteenth Amendment.
• and allows states to sue the federal government over enforcement failures.

They have a point.

The problem is that these knee-jerk reactions don't reflect the problem's logistics. If we have 13 to 30 million undocumented immigrants, we simply are never going to be able to deport them all. (Especially if they are already adept at living off the grid.)

Let's take the Laken Riley Act. It requires local officials to detain immigrants who commit minor crimes, they would normally be released for, and given a court date. Sounds great, right? Except that local jurisdictions only have a limited number of cells, and if it take the ICEstapo a couple of months to get around to deporting that person, that means that local jurisdiction has to eat the cost or let a more dangerous criminal out to free space.

Keep in mind, the only things that Ibarra was accused of was operating a scooter without a license in NY, and shoplifting in GA, neither of which were considered "Serious" crimes.

 

[candycorn]

<~~~~~~~~~~>
Democrats and advocacy groups argue that several new policies effectively undermine due process for undocumented immigrants:

• Expedited Removal Expansion: The administration expanded "expedited removal," allowing officials to deport noncitizens found anywhere in the U.S. without a court hearing if they cannot prove continuous presence for at least two years.
• Laken Riley Act: Signed in January 2025, this law mandates the detention of undocumented immigrants charged with certain crimes (like burglary or theft)
• Warrantless Home Entries: A March 2025 directive authorized law enforcement to enter the homes of certain migrants without warrants, a move currently being challenged in court.
• Birthright Citizenship: An executive order issued in early 2025 attempts to deny citizenship to U.S.-born children of undocumented parents, though this faces significant legal opposition based on the Fourteenth Amendment.
• and allows states to sue the federal government over enforcement failures.

Not sure what any of that has to do with my post.