In February 2024, 22-year-old Laken Riley was murdered in Athens, Georgia while she was out on a run.
Her killer, Jose Antonio Ibarra, was in the United States illegally. Riley’s murder ignited anger from people all across the country, considering the fact that her murderer shouldn’t have been in the country in the first place.
This year, The Laken Riley Act went into effect, mandating the detention of illegal immigrants admitting to, charged with, or convicted of theft-related crimes, assaulting a police officer, or a crime that results in death or serious bodily injury like drunk driving.
This week, Riley’s killer got a major court win. A judge ruled that Ibarra should be mentally evaluated. This came after his lawyers claimed he wasn’t competent to stand trial last year.
Ibarra is a member of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. He was convicted of Riley’s barbaric murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Laken Riley’s killer Jose Ibarra gets major win as judge allows him to undergo mental evaluation for shot at trial redo https://t.co/qyjTjbCyNC pic.twitter.com/8Mt1DDZppW
— New York Post (@nypost) July 7, 2025
Last week, Judge Patrick Haggard, who previously sentenced Ibarra, signed off on an order that Ibarra be evaluated. Ibarra’s lawyers claimed he lacked the mental wherewithal to help prepare his own defense and to understand his case, according to the New York Post.
Reportedly, Ibarra’s attorneys said he is “suffering from congenital deficiency which could render the client incapable of preparing a defense and standing trial,” adding that he “lacks the mental capacity to understand the nature and object and proceedings and council believes that this was in existence at the time of the offense and at the time of the trial.”
Haggard’s order reportedly said, “The mental competence of [Ibarra] has been called into question, and this court has found it appropriate for an evaluation to be conducted at the public expense.”
Ibarra has been seeking a retrial for the case.