Multiple shootings Aurora, CO movie theater. warning, bullet wound photo.

[HairOfTheDog]

Trial Set for October...Maybe

It's insanity, or is it?

Snip:
Judge Carlos A. Samour on Thursday set an Oct. 14 trial date for James Holmes. He is charged in the 2012 Aurora theater shooting that killed 12 people and injured 70.

However, the judge said it's possible the trial may be further delayed as prosecutors and defense attorneys spar over sanity evaluations of Holmes.

Holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Either factor alone could mean extra time in court for special arguments or tests before a trial even takes place.

The original trial date was in August. That was pushed to February after prosecutors announced they were seeking the death penalty. The February date was abandoned when prosecutors requested that Holmes undergo a second mental health evaluation.

Samour granted that request, saying Holmes' first evaluation by the state mental hospital was "incomplete and inadequate." Samour gave the state hospital until July 11 to submit a new report.

CBS News legal analyst Rikki Klieman told CBS News' Crimesider in December that the case will boil down to whether the defense can prove Holmes has a mental disease or defect, and if so, whether he was unable tell right from wrong at the time of the shooting.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/october-tria...ie-attack/
===========================================

Will not be surprised if the trial start date actually pushes out until well into 2015.

[HairOfTheDog]

TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Two years ago yesterday, July 20^th 2012, 12 people were killed and 70 were injured during a midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises" in the Denver suburb of Aurora.


The makeshift memorial outside of the the Century 16 theater after the shooting.

Here's an update on the case:

-THE TRIAL: Now scheduled to start December 8^th 2014, after three postponements. The first was when prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty; the second, when prosecutors asked for a second state sanity evaluation of Holmes; the third, when a doctor doing that exam asked for more time.

-JURY SELECTION: Seating 12 jurors and 12 alternates will take months. Judge Carlos A. Samour Jr. will issue a summons to 6,000 people and expects 3,300 candidates. They'll fill out questionnaires and undergo questioning.

-POTENTIAL OUTCOMES / SENTENCES: If found guilty, Holmes could face the death penalty. If found not guilty by reason of insanity, he would be committed indefinitely to the state mental hospital.

-DEFENDANT JAMES HOLMES -- MENTAL STATE: Whether he could tell right from wrong in the shooting - the key finding of the first sanity exam - wasn't released. But the judge agreed with prosecutors that the doctor was biased and ordered a second exam that's due Oct. 15.

Ref: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/20..._ref=crime

[Midwest Spy]

To me it seems laughable to insinuate that this guy doesn't know right from wrong.

So he's made his way through his entire life never knowing right from wrong? If his family, friends, teachers, etc. we're asked that question, what would they say?

This was a very well planned out event, not a spur of the moment, knee-jerk reaction to something.

[HairOfTheDog]

To me it seems laughable to insinuate that this guy doesn't know right from wrong.

So he's made his way through his entire life never knowing right from wrong? If his family, friends, teachers, etc. we're asked that question, what would they say?

This was a very well planned out event, not a spur of the moment, knee-jerk reaction to something.

It should be a very interesting trial.

Jury summons' were mailed out to 9,000 residents in early December. Formal jury selection begins on January 20^th and is expected to take 5 months -- looks like the judge is expecting it to be very difficult to assemble an unbiased jury of 12 primaries and 12 alternates.

If opening arguments begin in early June, it'll be just under 3 years from the time Holmes carried out the massacre at the movie theater. He's formally pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity and the prosecution is seeking the death penalty.

[HairOfTheDog]

OPENING STATEMENTS SCHEDULED FOR APRIL 27^TH



A jury was seated yesterday in the death penalty trial of admitted Colorado theater shooter James Holmes after a selection process that experts say was among the largest and most complicated in U.S. history.

The 12 jurors and 12 alternates were chosen after remaining candidates were questioned as a large group Monday. About 9,000 prospective jurors initially were summoned in what experts called the nation's biggest-ever jury pool. They spent weeks filling out lengthy written questionnaires.

Hundreds were then asked to return for one-on-one questioning, in which defense attorneys, prosecutors and the judge questioned them, sometimes for hours, about their views on the death penalty, mental illness and other aspects of the criminal justice system.

Holmes is charged with killing 12 people and wounding 70 others in the July 20, 2012, attack on a Denver-area movie theater.

His defense attorneys don't dispute that he pulled the trigger but say he was in the grips of a psychotic episode when he slipped into the theater and opened fire while dressed from head to toe in combat gear.

Prosecutors insist Holmes was sane and will ask jurors to convict him and sentence him to death.

If the jury finds Holmes was legally insane at the time of the attack, he would be committed indefinitely to the state psychiatric hospital. If the jury convicts Holmes, the only other option other than a death sentence is life in prison.

More: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/jury-seated-...es-holmes/

[HairOfTheDog]

TRIAL BEGINS TODAY, 4/27/15



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?

[HairOfTheDog]

Police Officers and Victim Testify

Today prosecutors called four police officers, a detective and a police sergeant as witnesses. For the first time since testimony began on Tuesday, the defense cross-examined some of them.

Defense lawyer Daniel King questioned officers about Holmes' strange appearance and peculiar behavior. The officers said he had disheveled, reddish-orange hair, his pupils were extremely dilated, he was sweaty and smelly, and he appeared disoriented and stared off into space when he was first arrested.

The officers testified that Holmes was keenly interested in what was going on around him, watching as bloody victims tried to escape the theater and authorities tried to assist.

King didn't cross-examine officer Justin Grizzle, who was overwhelmed by emotion as he told of rushing two victims to the hospital in his police car, including Caleb Medley.



^ Caleb Medley's face was mangled by a shotgun blast, and Grizzle could hear him struggling for breath, sometimes lapsing into stillness. Grizzle pleaded emphatically with him not to die.

Medley survived but lost an eye and suffered brain damage. He can't walk and can barely speak but testified briefly Tuesday.

At one point Thursday, Holmes' mother, Arlene, attempted to pass a note to the defense table from her seat nearby in the gallery, but a deputy intercepted it.

Arlene Holmes then left the courtroom with her husband, Bob, and defense attorney Tamara Brady. It wasn't clear what the note said or why they left.

Full story: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/colorado-the...aftermath/

[Cynical Ninja]

Mad or bad?

I would say probably both.

[HairOfTheDog]

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

[HairOfTheDog]

The Independent Psychiatrist Testifies



Aurora theater shooting defendant James Holmes' actions suggest that "he knew what he was doing was wrong," a state-appointed doctor testified Friday.

The independent psychiatrist – the prosecution and defense hired their own – said Holmes also appears to have a "primitive or infantile" way of dealing with a powerful anger he carries.

Holmes is "extremely uncomfortable … to see this powerful anger inside himself," testified Dr. William Reid, concluded that Holmes suffers from mental illness but knew right from wrong at the time of the shooting.

In his interviews, Holmes also said a breakup with his girlfriend made him want to kill other people.

Prosecutors have shown evidence that Holmes spent months preparing for the attack, including buying and practicing with guns, amassing body armor and researching the theater's exists and how long it might take police to arrive. Defense attorneys say Holmes suffers from schizophrenia and was unable to understand that what he was doing was wrong.

Jurors on Monday will resume watching more of the 22 hours of interviews conducted by Reid.

ref: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/natio.../28184771/
---------------------------------

He premeditated the murderers. He knew right from wrong. He confessed. I wish this trial could have just gone straight to the penalty phase.

Anyway, testimony is expected to continue til the end of summer.

[HairOfTheDog]

Holmes' Personal Psychiatrist Before the Shootings Testifies


Dr. Lynne Fenton testified Tuesday that Holmes told he was having homicidal thoughts as often as three or four times a day, but never let on that he was building a weapons arsenal and planning a mass killing.

If he revealed his intent, 'I likely would have put him on a mental health hold and contacted the police,' Fenton said.

Fenton called Holmes' mother, but was told that her patient had been shy and socially awkward for many years, diminishing the apparent risk that he would be a danger to himself or others. 'I thought it was much less likely this was a sudden, new psychotic break,' Fenton said.

Freed from patient-client privilege by Holmes' insanity plea, Fenton testimony in Holmes' death penalty trial marked her first public statements about him. Among other things, she described his behavior as anxious, hostile, bizarre and so worrisome that she took it upon herself to alert campus police but didn't find the evidence needed to hold someone against his will.

Defense attorneys say Holmes, who has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, is schizophrenic and was in the grips of a psychotic episode as he carried out the attack on July 20, 2012. If the jury agrees, he'll be committed indefinitely to a mental hospital instead of prison.

The state must prove he was legally sane at the time, which is the conclusion of two court-appointed psychiatrists who examined Holmes months and years after the attack. A guilty verdict could bring the death penalty or life in prison without parole.

Under cross-examination by defense attorney Tamara Brady, Fenton acknowledged she had written in her notes that Holmes 'may be shifting insidiously into a frank psychotic disorder such as schizophrenia.' (HOTD: this helps the Defense, for sure.)

Fenton and Holmes had five therapy sessions between mid-March and June 11, 2012, when he dropped out of the graduate neuroscience program at the University of Colorado. He had come in with what a social worker described as the worst obsessive-compulsive disorder symptom s she had ever seen.

Holmes got medicine but deflected efforts to probe his thinking, Fenton said.At times, he showed flashes of anger, she said.

Two years after the attack, Holmes told a court-ordered examiner that he kept secret his elaborate schemes and to-do lists. He waited until just before the assault to mail his journal to Fenton.

'I kind of regret that she didn't lock me up so that everything could have been avoided,' Holmes told the examiner.

Fenton, who also faces a civil suit accusing her of not doing enough to stop the attack, faced a few more questions from the jury before leaving the witness stand. A prosecutor asked if she could be released from her subpoena, but the judge agreed with a defense objection, saying she may be summoned again.

So far, five jurors have been released; 19 remain.

Holmes' ex-girlfiend testified earlier on that he had alluded to carrying out violence. She broke up with him weeks before the massacre.

Ref: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3128397/5^th-juror-dismissed-Colorado-theater-shooting-trial.html

[HairOfTheDog]

GUILTY

A jury has convicted James Holmes on first-degree murder charges for killing 12 people and wounding dozens of others when he opened fire at a Colorado movie theater in 2012.

Jurors deliberated for a day and a half over whether Holmes was a cold, calculating killer or a man in the grips of a psychotic breakdown when he opened fire in a crowded movie theater almost exactly three years ago. In the end, they found him guilty of all 165 charges he faced.

The 27-year-old Holmes, who had been working toward his Ph.D. in neuroscience, could get the death penalty for the massacre.

The penalty phase of the trial will begin next Wednesday.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/james-holmes...g-verdict/

[Midwest Spy]

This guy needs the death sentence, and then needs to be put down in a timely fashion.

[Jimbone]

Too bad the Colorado governor isn't for the death penalty... he gave a reprieve to a quadruple murderer just last year. If the jury decides death for Holmes, he might do the same thing again.

[HairOfTheDog]

Jury Instructions / Mitigating Factors -- Life or Death Deliberations Begin


The judge ^ reminded jurors that they already agreed that aspects of Holmes' crimes justify capital punishment, including the fact that he killed multiple people, created a grave risk of death to others, acted in a cruel or depraved manner and laid in wait for his victims.

But he said Holmes has asserted factors that could point to mercy, including his age and emotional state at the time of the crime, his limited capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct, his cooperation with authorities, and any other evidence introduced by his defense.

Then, he enumerated more than 50 such mitigating factors, including that:

-All experts agree that Holmes suffers from schizophrenia, is not faking the illness that caused the events, and if he had been healthy, the crimes would not have taken place;
-"Holmes was genetically loaded to experience a psychotic disorder," given the extensive history of schizophrenia on his father's side of the family;
-he was 24 in 2012, the age when schizophrenics most frequently experience the onset of mental illness;
-he was never arrested before of a crime;
-he was raised in a loving home, surrounded by caring friends and neighbors;
- many people who encountered him later in Colorado missed signals that his mind was deteriorating;the drugs he was prescribed before the attack could have increased his mania and other dangerous symptoms.
-he remains on anti-psychotic and anti-depressive medicine today to treat brain diseases for which there is no cure.
-Holmes still struggles to explain, even years later, why his "mission" took such irrevocable control over his mind.
-his mental illness was, and still is, the sole cause of his shooting.
-committing the attack was not an act he enjoyed or took pleasure in.
-despite the horrific crime, Holmes has friends and family who continue to love and care about him.

"This is an individual decision and not a group decision," Samour stressed, and each juror must give each aggravating and mitigating factor as much or as little weight as they alone determine. "This decision is not mechanical nor mathematical," he said.

Holmes was found guilty of 24 counts eligible for the death penalty because each killing was counted twice, as first-degree murder "after deliberation" and first-degree murder "after extreme indifference." All jurors have to agree that at least one of these counts still justifies the death penalty for capital punishment to be considered in their final deliberations.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/jurors-instr...lmes-life/

[HairOfTheDog]

FINAL PENALTY DELIBERATIONS UNDER WAY -- LIFE OR DEATH

Earlier this week in phase 2 of the penalty deliberations, the jury decided that the mitigating factors presented did not take the death penalty off the table for them. Both James Holmes' mother and sister testified as mitigating witnesses. This week, the final and third phase of the penalty proceedings are underway.

The jury began final penalty deliberations to determine whether Holmes will live or die yesterday. In Colorado, the death penalty is conducted by lethal injection. The last time it was used was in 1994 for Gary Davis. There are three people currently on death row in the state.


PROSECUTION STANCE: In closing arguments, District Attorney George Brauchler ^ played a recording of a 911 call with gunshots and screams in the background as the victims' pictures disappeared one by one from a courtroom TV screen. "For James Eagan Holmes, justice is death," he said. "Death."


DEFENSE STANCE: Defense attorney ^ Tamara Brady said that the massacre was heartbreaking but that Holmes' schizophrenia was the sole cause. "The death of a seriously mentally ill man is not justice, no matter how tragic the case is," she said. "Please, no more death."


VICTIM CHANGE OF STANCE: Marcus Weaver ^ spent nearly three years talking openly about forgiving the man who shot him, killed his friend and caused untold suffering. As a Christian opposed to capital punishment, he considered forgiveness "a no-brainer" and didn't want to see the gunman executed. But he has since changed his mind and thinks Holmes should be sentenced to death.

"I feel the sentence that he may get, which is the death penalty, is the only penalty that fits the crime that he committed that night," Weaver said, standing in front of the courthouse where he listened to the tragic and gruesome testimony of fellow moviegoers that ultimately spurred his change of heart.

If the jury doesn't unanimously agree on death, Holmes will automatically receive a life sentence.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/colorado-sho...rys-hands/
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jury...th-n405876

[BlueTiki]

Wow!

No death penalty.

Mental illness kills people.

[Maggot]

I've mentally killed entire nations.

[Duchess]

I've mentally killed entire nations.

You wouldn't believe what I've done to some people in my mind. You might be shocked!

[HairOfTheDog]

Holmes had offered to plead guilty on all counts back in 2013, in exchange for the death penalty being taken off the table. Prosecutors declined the offer.

I did not expect that prosecutors would be able to get 12 people to agree unanimously to a death sentence given Holmes' documented mental illness. But, I understand why they had to try despite the extensive time and cost involved.

There was reportedly only one juror who voted against death, and two others weren't sure. Ref: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...nalty.html

It's a little difficult to understand how that dp-qualified juror could have found that Holmes knew what he was doing and that it was wrong in the guilty phase; and then have found that the mitigating factors (including mental illness) did not outweigh the aggravating factors; only to ultimately vote firmly against the death penalty.

But, so it is. Life without parole. Most of Holmes' victims' families are expressing disappointment. But one expressed gratitude for the fact that, in his opinion, emotion didn't override reason in the final sentencing.

Anyway, I'm glad the trial is over and hope the wounded victims and the families of the 12 murdered victims feel some sense of peace.


RIP.