Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly will confront the man who put a bullet through her brain at his sentencing Thursday for a shooting rampage that left six people dead in Tucson, Ariz., in January 2011, a source close to the family confirmed. 
 
 Mass murderer Jared Lee Loughner struck a plea bargain with federal prosecutors in August that will spare his life, but is designed to ensure that he spends the rest of it behind bars. 
 
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 reset Giffords delivers pledge at DNC 
 
 (PHOTOS: Gabrielle Giffords's congressional career) 
 
 Giffords and Kelly will be in the courtroom for his sentencing at 10 a.m. Thursday, and Kelly plans to address Loughner on their behalf, the source said. 
 
 At the time of the plea deal with federal prosecutors, Kelly released a statement for himself and Giffords that said they were “satisfied” with the Justice Department’s decision to accept the agreement rather than pursuing the death penalty. A long trial could have forced the surviving victims, their families and the families of the dead to relive the horrific shooting spree. 
 
 On Jan. 8, 2011, Loughner opened fire at Giffords’s Congress on Your Corner event outside a Tuscon supermarket, killing six people, including federal judge John M. Roll, Giffords aide Gabriel Zimmerman and 9-year-old Christina Taylor-Green, and wounding 13 others. 
 
 Giffords, shot in the head, was rushed to the hospital where surgeons saved her life. She underwent intensive in-patient recovery at a medical facility in Houston, Texas, returned to the House to cast a vote avoiding a default on the nation’s debt in the summer of 2011, and ultimately resigned her seat in January 2012. 
 
 She recited the Pledge of the Allegiance at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., this past summer. 

 The man who pleaded guilty in the Arizona shooting rampage will be sentenced Thursday for the attack that left six people dead and wounded former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 12 others. 
 
 FILE - This photo provided on Feb. 22, 2011, by the U.S. Marshal's Service shows Jared Lee Loughner. Loughner, who pleaded guilty in the Arizona shooting rampage, will be sentenced Thursday, Nov. 8, 2012,... (Associated Press) 
 
 The sentencing hearing will mark the first time that victims will confront Jared Lee Loughner in court about the January 2011 shooting at a Giffords political event outside a grocery store in Tucson, Ariz. 
 
 Prosecutors say an unspecified number of victims will comment before U.S. District Judge Larry Burns sentences Loughner, though it's unknown whether Giffords or her husband plan to attend or have a statement read on their behalf. Three shooting victims have told The Associated Press that they intend to comment at the hearing. 
 
 The 24-year-old had pleaded guilty three months ago to 19 federal charges under an agreement that guarantees he will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole. The deal calls for the dismissal of 30 other charges and a sentence of seven consecutive life terms, followed by 140 years in prison. 
 
 Both sides reached the deal after a judge declared that Loughner was able to understand the charges against him. After the shooting, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and underwent forcible psychotropic drug treatments. 
 
 Some victims, including Giffords, welcomed the deal as a way to move on. It spared victims and their families from having to go through a potentially lengthy and traumatic trial and locks up the defendant for life. 
 
 Ron Barber, a former Giffords staffer who was shot in the cheek and thigh during the attack and later won election to her seat when Giffords stepped down, plans to make a statement, said his spokesman, Mark Kimble. 
 
 Suzi Hileman, who was shot three times while trying to save her 9-year-old neighbor, and Mavy Stoddard, whose husband died shielding her from bullets, plan to address the court. 
 
 "He has to pay the consequences for what he did, and justice will be served," Hileman said. 
 
 Judy Clarke, Loughner's lead attorney, didn't return messages seeking comment. 
 
 Christina Pietz, the court-appointed psychologist who treated Loughner, had warned that although Loughner was competent to plead guilty, he remained severely mentally ill and his condition could deteriorate under the stress of a trial. 
 
 When Loughner first arrived at a Missouri prison facility for treatment, he was convinced Giffords was dead, even though he was shown a video of the shooting, but eventually realized she was alive after he was forcibly medicated. 
 
 It's unknown whether Pima County prosecutors, who have discretion on whether to seek the death penalty against Loughner, will file state charges against him. Stephanie Coronado, a spokeswoman for Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall, said Wednesday that no decision had been made. 
 
 It's unclear where Loughner will be sent to serve his federal sentence. He could return to a prison medical facility like the one in Springfield, Mo., where he's been treated for more than a year. Or he could end up in a prison such as the federal lockup in Florence, Colo., that houses some of the country's most notorious criminals, including Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols and "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski. 
 
 The exact placement will depend on the nature of his mental illness and its treatment.
– The Arizona gunman who killed six people and wounded 13, including former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, will be sentenced to life in prison this morning—and Giffords herself will be in the courtroom, Politico reports. A federal plea bargain this summer will put Jared Lee Loughner, 24, behind bars for life, but he will avoid the death penalty. Aided by her husband, Mark Kelly, the former lawmaker will address Loughner in court; several other victims also plan to speak, the AP reports. Loughner and those close to him will also have an opportunity to speak, the Arizona Republic reports, and some of the victims are planning a press conference after the hearing. This summer, Loughner pleaded guilty to 19 federal charges in a deal that dismissed 30 other charges, but denies the possibility of parole as he serves seven life sentences plus 140 years in prison. "He has to pay the consequences for what he did, and justice will be served," says a victim. It's not yet known where he'll serve his sentence. Prosecutors could still file state charges against him, potentially seeking the death penalty, the AP notes.