04-27-2015, 10:01 AM
TRIAL BEGINS TODAY, 4/27/15
![[Image: hi-james-holmes-plea78.jpg]](http://i.cbc.ca/1.1579905.1379062685!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/hi-james-holmes-plea78.jpg)
Story: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/as-aurora-sh...hard-sell/
Like with Boston Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, it's undisputed by both sides that James Holmes committed the mass murder. The only dispute is whether or not Holmes was sane at the time, which is what will determine his maximum punishment.
The prosecution wants to convince the jury that Holmes was not insane and therefore deserves to be put on death row and eventually executed by the state.
The defense wants to convince the jury that Holmes was insane and should spend the rest of his life incarcerated. In prison or a penal mental institution? I'm not sure if the defense is insisting on the latter -- they offered the prosecution a guilty plea in exchange for LWOP and it was rejected. I think they're just trying to keep their client alive.
Should the state have just accepted a guilty plea and given Holmes Life Without Parole? Or, do you think that all the time and expense required to pursue a trial conviction and death penalty sentence is the right way to go in this case?
Story: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/as-aurora-sh...hard-sell/
Like with Boston Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, it's undisputed by both sides that James Holmes committed the mass murder. The only dispute is whether or not Holmes was sane at the time, which is what will determine his maximum punishment.
The prosecution wants to convince the jury that Holmes was not insane and therefore deserves to be put on death row and eventually executed by the state.
The defense wants to convince the jury that Holmes was insane and should spend the rest of his life incarcerated. In prison or a penal mental institution? I'm not sure if the defense is insisting on the latter -- they offered the prosecution a guilty plea in exchange for LWOP and it was rejected. I think they're just trying to keep their client alive.
Should the state have just accepted a guilty plea and given Holmes Life Without Parole? Or, do you think that all the time and expense required to pursue a trial conviction and death penalty sentence is the right way to go in this case?