The lawyers for accused Colorado theater shooter James Holmes are arguing today that their client is insane, in an attempt to keep him alive and out of prison. In the years before the shooting, two psychiatrists had assessed Holmes as sane; however, the defense claims Holmes was in the grips of a psychotic episode related to schizophrenia when he allegedly killed 12 and injured 70 others during a July 2012 screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado. If Holmes was unable to tell right from wrong, he would be rendered legally insane in the state of Colorado. Such a verdict would place him in a state mental hospital indefinitely, rather than have him face a life sentence or the death penalty.
The defense's first witness was a nurse who reported that Holmes ran headfirst into walls in his Arapahoe County Jail cell in November 2012. When pressed if Holmes otherwise displayed out-of-the-ordinary behavior, the nurse replied no. Holmes' psychiatrist Lynne Fenton is also expected to be called to the stand by the defense after having earlier reported a growing concern about her patient's "paranoid delusions" and "psychotic-level thinking" in the months before the attack.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Who were the ‘weekend snipers’ of Sarajevo?Under the Radar Italian authorities launch investigation into allegations far-right gun enthusiasts paid to travel to Bosnian capital and shoot civilians ‘for fun’ during the four-year siege
-
A free speech debate is raging over sign language at the White HouseTalking Points The administration has been accused of excluding deaf Americans from press briefings
-
Glinda vs. Elphaba, Jennifer Lawrence vs. postpartum depression and wilderness vs. progress in November moviesthe week recommends This month’s new releases include ‘Wicked: For Good,’ ‘Die My Love’ and ‘Train Dreams’
-
ABC News to pay $15M in Trump defamation suitSpeed Read The lawsuit stemmed from George Stephanopoulos' on-air assertion that Trump was found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments lawSpeed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security lawSpeed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitutionspeed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidenceSpeed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence
-
Supreme Court wary of state social media regulationsSpeed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users
-
Greece legalizes same-sex marriageSpeed Read Greece becomes the first Orthodox Christian country to enshrine marriage equality in law
