Mass Shooting at Dark Knight Rises Premier in Aurora Colorado (12 Dead, 59 Injured)

[PokerGuy]

I would have been shocked had he not been found guilty.

 

[Jaskalas]

Not much of a surprise. Insanity defenses are only very rarely accepted by juries.

because, while certainly deranged, he isn't insane.

This guy is a threat to society, I don't care what else he is.
"Insanity" makes it sound like he'd "get away" with what he did. That he'd ever see the light of day again.
That'd never fly.

 

[Thump553]

Like the Boston Marathon case, the real issue will be the death penalty phase. Prosecutors seem to be following the same playbook in each case-emphasize the meticulous planning done beforehand and heartbreaking results (live testimony from man whose pregnant wife is gunned down next to him, for example).

Whether the defendant is faking/overstating his mental illness will be the deciding factor.

 

[Ketchup]

Wow, killed 12 people and took 3 years to find him guilty only after 12 hours of jury deliberation. And still hasn't been sentenced!

What a crazy would we live in!

 

[Londo_Jowo]

Wow, killed 12 people and took 3 years and 12 hours of jury deliberation. And still hasn't been sentenced!

What a crazy would we live in!

Should he get the death penalty, the current average of the appeal process is around 15 years. So he could be put to death 18 years after the fact.

 

[Subyman]

Wow, killed 12 people and took 3 years to find him guilty only after 12 hours of jury deliberation. And still hasn't been sentenced!

What a crazy would we live in!

It is a long process with so many people affected. You can't let this idiot get off on a technicality. He's been rotting in jail the entire time, so its all good :thumbsup:

 

[Mai72]

Wow, killed 12 people and took 3 years to find him guilty only after 12 hours of jury deliberation. And still hasn't been sentenced!

What a crazy would we live in!

Try this type of killing spree in Asia! You'd get a quick verdict and a swift death. Not 18-20 years of legal bull...

Look at the Norway murderer. Killed hundreds of teenagers and he's sitting cozy in a comfortable jail. Never having to worry about his next meal.

 

[Fayd]

Interesting. Out of curiosity does the law only require 1 per business location or is it one per person working in that business that would be selling a gun?

It's not even that. The vast majority of ffl holders are not commercial sellers.

 

[Ketchup]

Try this type of killing spree in Asia! You'd get a quick verdict and a swift death. Not 18-20 years of legal bull...

Look at the Norway murderer. Killed hundreds of teenagers and he's sitting cozy in a comfortable jail. Never having to worry about his next meal.

To be clear, I am not for a person or two looking at a case and delivering a death sentence the same day. I like the premise behind the system we have. But centuries of pushing the system to the edge, this is what we are left with.

And I may not have been clear in my post, but I was also surprised it took a jury 12 hours to report their decision. I never saw the story when this happened (or it has just slipped my mind sense, but I have not stayed with news in years), so unfortunately I don't know how much info there was for the jury to go through, but considering it was clear who the shooting was from the beginning (he was the only suspect for a reason), it still stuns me that the their conversation took more that 12 seconds.

 

[cabri]

And I may not have been clear in my post, but I was also surprised it took a jury 12 hours to report their decision. I never saw the story when this happened (or it has just slipped my mind sense, but I have not stayed with news in years), so unfortunately I don't know how much info there was for the jury to go through, but considering it was clear who the shooting was from the beginning (he was the only suspect for a reason), it still stuns me that the their conversation took more that 12 seconds.

They had 165 charges to consider.

14 charges per hour - that is less than 5 minutes each.
Each juror needs to be polled and the result tallied. (20 seconds avg/juror)
Assuming that there was no discussion about each charge.

Less than double your 12 second time.

 

[woolfe9998]

Right, and they weren't taking 12 hours to figure out if he did it or not. They were figuring out if he was legally insane or not. Typically this involves parsing through the extensive testimony of 2-5 expert witnesses, and possibly debating the point, if any of the jurors initially favored insanity. The question can be confusing to jurors, because they hear testimony that the defendant had one or more diagnosed mental disorders, but they have to apply the legal standard of insanity, which is very different from and much narrower than clinical definitions.

 

[Ketchup]

Thanks cabri and woolfe9998. I looked at the article a little closer and have a better understanding of what the jury had to discover, so yeah, I might have taken 30 seconds on that one. Insanity? I guess you had to be there. Did he even take the stand?

And to be fair, the article gave a fair reason it took them a bit longer than I first surmised.

Holmes faced two counts of first-degree murder for each of the 12 victims. The jury found him guilty on all 24 counts.

Holmes, who had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, showed no reaction as the verdict against him was announced. He stood at the defense table with his attorney, his hands in his pockets. He faced a total of 165 charges.

The jury also found Holmes guilty of attempted murder on all of the 140 counts against him for the 70 people wounded in the shooting. Additionally, he was found guilty of one count of possession or control of an explosive or incendiary device.

I guess since the jury doesn't know what the sentence will be, you gotta get these guys for everything you can (referring to the control of explosive device charge on top of several murder charges).

 

[cabri]

Link

Jurors moved one step closer toward sentencing James Holmes to death for his Colorado movie theater attack, taking less than three hours to reject arguments that the former neuroscience student's mental illness means he should not die.

...


The same jury swiftly rejected Holmes' insanity defense, deciding that he was capable of telling right from wrong when he carried out the theater attack in the Denver suburb of Aurora on July 20, 2012. Their quick decision raised expectations that they will choose a death sentence after what prosecutors estimate will be two or three more days of testimony from survivors.

 

[LightRider]

http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/07/us/james-holmes-movie-theater-shooting-jury/

James Holmes sentenced to life in prison for Colorado movie theater murders

 

[cabri]

http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/07/us/james-holmes-movie-theater-shooting-jury/

James Holmes sentenced to life in prison for Colorado movie theater murders

9/12 for it
1 against and 2 on the fence.

I suspect that the inconsistency of the victims testimony had an influence.

 

[JSt0rm]

http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/07/us/james-holmes-movie-theater-shooting-jury/

James Holmes sentenced to life in prison for Colorado movie theater murders

Good. Costs less and revenge killing isnt how our justice system should work.

 

[Jaskalas]

9/12 for it
1 against and 2 on the fence.

I suspect that the inconsistency of the victims testimony had an influence.

Was there another dressed up gun-totting maniac on the loose near the theater that night?

 

[Jaskalas]

Good. Costs less and revenge killing isnt how our justice system should work.

Removing threats is, and in a proper system it wouldn't cost more.

 

[JSt0rm]

Removing threats is, and in a proper system it wouldn't cost more.

A proper system? Without appeals you could possibly have innocent people put to death. You are ok with the state killing innocent people?

The threat has been removed - life without parole.

 

[OutHouse]

Good. Costs less and revenge killing isnt how our justice system should work.

Fucker needs to die. Preferably from a hanging tree outside the court house

 

[JSt0rm]

Fucker needs to die. Preferably from a hanging tree outside the court house

Said a simple mind.

Its funny if we travel down the righties thought process to its extreme we find isis.

 

[MongGrel]

And now the tax system has to pay to keep him alive the rest of his life.

One of those few cases where if someone at the time had used one bullet, it would never have been a problem.

But that's the way the system works I guess.

The Justice System and Reality always operate a bit independently, I had my CO in the Marines decades ago more or less give me a bit of a wink and gave me a lesson on that.

It was a minor thing then, but you do have to follow the rules, like the mods in here even.

Things in society are structured for a reason.

 

[Orignal Earl]

Said a simple mind.

Its funny if we travel down the righties thought process to its extreme we find isis.

Jesus dude, don't go there.
Now you will have to respond to a hundred posts where they will slowly morph your post into supporting Daesh

 

[davmat787]

If anyone deserves the death penalty it's Holmes. However there are countless of examples where convictions are overturned due to new forensic technology or police corruption brought to light that showed falsified evidence.

The work of the innocence project has freed over 200 falsely imprisoned people, some on death row.

I can't support state sanctioned death penalties with so many examples of the wrongly convicted. Prior to learning about how common false convictions occur I was in favor of the death penalty.

 

[davmat787]

Said a simple mind.

Its funny if we travel down the righties thought process to its extreme we find isis.

You should go watch the videos of ISIS execution methods and for the supposed crimes its meted out for.

You know the ones where they wrap det cord around 6 peoples neck to behead them or lower a cage of people underwater to drown them.

After watching them try to come back and revisit your comment without feeling like a shameful asshole.