James Holmes sentenced to AT LEAST life in prison, possibly death penalty

[Noomi]

What do you think about his sentence? ...

Twelve victims died in the attack, 58 others were wounded. The melee is among the worst mass shootings in modern-day American history. Prosecutors filed a total of 142 criminal charges against him, including 116 counts of attempted murder. The 24 murder counts reflect dual charges (premeditated and without remorse) by the prosecutors.

In the lengthy list of charges, the Arapahoe County District Attorney's Office accuses Holmes of, "evidencing an attitude of universal malice manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life."

During Monday's hearing, Judge William Sylvester carefully explained to Holmes that the charges carry a minimum sentence of life in prison and a maximum of death. The district attorney near Denver has not announced if she will seek the death penalty against the alleged gunman.

I hope he gets life, although the bloodthirsty folk over there would prefer to see him hung, drawn and quartered.

 

[koshergrl]

Over..where????

 

[hortysir]

Over..where????

She's in Australia.

They don't kill people over there, apparently

 

[Cecilie1200]

Semantics, people.

The judge told him that his charges carry a MINIMUM sentence of life in prison, possibly death. He's as good as sentenced to one or the other. Perhaps I should have said: "James Holmes WILL be sentenced to AT LEAST life in prison, possibly death penalty" but regardless of words, the results are the same. He WILL be sentenced to one or the other, based on what the judge said.

And why would you think "perhaps" you should have said something that stupid? It's a preliminary hearing, and you've already jumped ahead, past all the pre-trial motions, psychatric evaluations, and the trial itself, to declare him guilty and sentenced.

Here's a thought. Maybe you should hold onto your underwear, quit being in such a damned rush, and let the story play itself out in its own time, hmmm?

 

[Cecilie1200]

^Yes he will. There's no way the charges will be dropped. This guy is not getting the insanity plea, because he's not (legally) insane!

How do you know he's not? Are you a psychiatrist? Did you examine him?

It's actually quite possible that both the prosecutor's and the defendant's psychiatrists will bring back findings of enough mental illness for the lawyers to agree to a deal that involves the rest of his life in an institution.

 

[Cecilie1200]

I've heard and read many different (professional) opinions on just what psychopathology is, some of which hold that a physically identifiable cause of aberrant behavior, such as a brain tumor, must be present to qualify. But I believe capability and motivation are adequate indicators of whether someone can be considered psychologically normal or not.

Timothy McVeigh, for example, was motivated by the BATF's and FBI/HRT's actions at Waco to spend months constructing a massive bomb and detonating it without regard for innocent casualties. While his motivation is understandable, the capability of carrying out such an elaborate act of vengeance with utter disregard for innocent victims is sufficiently abnormal to qualify as psychopathology. In other words, anyone who is capable of doing something that bizarre is a menace to society by virtue of his psychological condition. Is there need for a more technical definition of what insanity is?

Is anyone here willing to say this Holmes fellow isn't crazy? Why should knowing the cause of his pathology be necessary for it to qualify as legal insanity?

Unfortunately, while that might work for a CLINICAL finding of insanity, it's not the legal definition of insanity. Legally, you cannot be said to have had criminal intent, and therefore held responsible, if you are unable to understand the nature, quality, and consequences of your act. If, for example, you are so incapable of differentiating reality from fantasy that you are mortally convinced your next-door neighbor is an evil space alien, intent on invading the planet and stealing your body, so you kill him to protect yourself, you're legally insane and on your way to a mental hospital.

On the other hand, if you know perfectly well that what you're planning to do is kill people, that it's illegal and viewed as morally wrong, and that you're likely to go to prison if you're caught, but you decide to do it because you think you're a supervillain and so killing people is a cool thing to do and part of your job description, you may be nuts and not well-attached to reality, but you may still be sane enough for legal purposes.

Also, it's possible that, like Jared Loughner, Holmes may now be too unstable to be able to contribute to his own defense. Whatever his condition was at the time of the killings, he might now be too deteriorated to comprehend what's happening to him, and thus be unable to stand trial.