Almost 3 years ago, James Holmes, now 27, opened fire on a theater full of people during the midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises” in Aurora, Colorado. 12 people were killed in the shooting, and 70 people were injured. Holmes does not deny the crime, but has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. If he is found guilty by the jury, he could face the death penalty. If the jury determines that he was insane at the time of the crime, then he would instead be sent to a state psychiatric hospital.
The defense showed jurors a video taken in jail a few months after the shooting of Holmes experiencing what they called “a psychotic break.” The video showed Holmes standing on his bunk bed, and dropping backward onto his back and head. The defense argued that Holmes’ actions demonstrate his mental illness. Holmes had to be hospitalized as a result of these actions, and was treated with anti-psychotic medications and anti-depressant medications. However, during cross-examination, one of the jail nurses who dealt with Holmes testified that Holmes acted like “any other inmate” and his behavior was “nothing out of the ordinary,” other than the bed falling episode.
The expert witness presented by the defense, however, did not agree with the nurse. Dr. Jonathan Woodcock, who performed a mental evaluation of Holmes following his arrest, claims that Holmes was experiencing severe psychotic mental illness, and that Holmes was experiencing a “considerable disruption in his ability to understand reality.” The prosecution has called 2 court-appointed psychiatrists to the stand, both of whom claimed that Holmes was sane when he committed the crime, but that he does suffer from mental illness.
This case is taking place in Colorado, but here in Arizona, a person cannot plead not guilty by reason of insanity. Here, we have guilty except insane. Mental health defense cases are very rare—only about 1% of cases will involve an insanity defense. It will be interesting to see how this case unfolds.
Read the original article here.
