05-02-2015, 09:22 AM
(05-01-2015, 10:26 AM)Cynical Ninja Wrote: Mad or bad?
I would say probably both.
Could be. Legally speaking, "insanity" can only get a defendant off the "guilty" hook if the jury believes that the defendant didn't know what he was doing OR didn't know what he was doing was wrong.
I don't think Holmes' Defense will be able to convince a jury of that. However, if the Defense can convince the jury that Holmes is nonetheless mentally ill, Holmes' attorney may be able to spare him from the death penalty sought by prosecutors.
TRIAL WEEK 1
The prosecution called many victim witnesses during the first week of trial, of course. They told sad and terrifying accounts of what happened to them the night they went to see The Dark Knight back in 2012.
The prosecution told the jury that two psychiatrists ruled that Holmes was sane at the time of the killings.
The prosecution also presented evidence that Holmes was amassing a stockpile of weapons for months, all the while emailing his parents and others about mundane everyday life matters.
It was also revealed that Holmes had his first girlfriend and sexual experience during that period of time, though she sent him a message two weeks before the massacre stating that she didn't think things were gonna work out between the two of them.
The defense told the jury that two of Holmes' male relatives are mentally ill, that Holmes tried to kill himself twice in prison (they showed video of the attempts), and that he thought President Obama was communicating with him through the television.
Public Defender King claims that Holmes was moved to a "rubber room," where he was observed eating lunch meat between two flattened plastic foam cups, licking walls, sucking his thumb, and often "crying and ranting."
Ref: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/02..._ref=crime