Insanity defense for James Holmes who claimed he was The Joker

dorriolds — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 19:17:52 +0000

Police Chief Dan Oates answers questions after the Aurora movie theater shooting

New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said James Holmes had dyed his hair reddish orange and claimed to be The Joker, the green-haired villain from the Batman movies.
“The first order of business for his defense lawyer is to get a grasp of Holmes’ mental status,” said former federal prosecutor Rick Kornfeld, who defended the parents of Columbine killer Dylan Klebold. “The only real defense would be the insanity defense.”
Craig Silverman, former prosecuter in the Denver District Attorney’s office, said that the defense attorney “would have to prove that [Holmes] lacked the capacity to distinguish right from wrong. Insanity would apply if this guy really thought he was a character in a movie.”
Since yesterday, James Homes has been held in solitary confinement, for his protection against other inmates and on suicide watch, at Arapahoe County Detention Facility. He is being held without bond on suspicion of multiple counts of first-degree murder. A public defender has been appointed to him and his initial hearing is tomorrow.

In a resume posted on Monster.com James listed himself as an “aspiring scientist” and said he was looking for a job as a laboratory technician. The resume, obtained by The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, says he worked as a summer intern at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla in 2006 and mapped the neurons of Zebra finches and studied the flight muscles of hummingbirds while he was an undergraduate at the University of California, Riverside. He also worked as a summer camp counselor to underprivileged children at a Jewish camp in Los Angeles in 2008.

According to CNN, University of Colorado (CU) spokeswoman Jacque Montgomery said.”As a grad student you have an opportunity to work for the university in the research program for the programs that you’re studying. He worked in the neurosciences program. It is a paid position.”
Montgomery confirmed that Holmes was a student there but “was in the process of withdrawing.” The university said Holmes gave no reason for asking to withdraw from the program. People that knew James said he seemed frustrated that, after achieving his undergrad degree, the only job he could get was at McDonald’s.
Documents show that Holmes had been enrolled in a course titled, “Biological Basis of Psychiatric and Neurological Disorders.” On May 8, 2011, he gave a presentation on the topic of MicroRNA biomarkers. CU described his program as, “training outstanding neuroscientists and academicians who will make significant contributions to neurobiology.”
Before CU, in 2010, James graduated with top honors from University of California Riverside with a bachelors of science in neuroscience. He was an honor student and one of only six recipients of a neuroscience training grant from the National Institutes of Health.
Holmes was quiet and a loner. The Associated Press said, “In the age of widespread social media, no trace of James Holmes could be found on Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter or anywhere on the Web. Either he never engaged or he scrubbed his trail.”
Holmes did, however, have a profile up on a sex site called, AdultFriendFinder.
Out of respect to the families of the victims, Warner Bros. was reluctant to speak about ticket sales after the monstrous massacre. They did, however, finally agree to talk with The New York Times, who wrote that Christopher Nolan’s Batman 3 “The Dark Knight Rises” did manage “to score one of the best opening weekends at the box office.” The Times quoted that figure at $190 million. According to many Web sources the movie cost $250 to make. Warner Bros. is most likely very relieved about their finances. Multitudes of fans are still eager to see the film and no showings of the film have been cancelled here in New York City, nor anywhere else.

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Photo and updates of Aurora theater shooting suspect James Holmes

dorriolds — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 20:04:51 +0000

Suspect James Holmes, 24, has been identified as a Ph.D. student at the University of Colorado. He had been studying neuroscience but this past June he withdrew from his classes. He used an AR-15 assault-style rifle that can hold 30 rounds and shoots at incredible speed. Holmes killed at least 12 people and injured as many as 50. He also had two Glock pistols and a handgun.
According to The Los Angeles Times, “Holmes may be a disgruntled employee of the movie theater.”
The police have confirmed that explosives are in the apartment where James Holmes lives. They are unsure of what the flammable materials are made of but SWAT team members are on site investigating. James Holmes told cops that he was The Joker and had even dyed his hair to look like the character.
One witness of the shooting told ABC News, “You just smelled smoke and you just kept hearing it, you just heard bam bam bam, non-stop. The gunman never had to reload. Shots just kept going, kept going, kept going.”
Witnesses saw dead bodies covered in blood and those interviewed have confirmed that it was a terrifying and chaotic scene. The gunman set off smoke bombs then opened fire randomly on the crowd.
Holmes was caught by the police in the parking lot of the Aurora theater shortly after the shooting. He was wearing a bulletproof vest, riot helmet, gas mask and black clothes. More than 250 police have responded to the scene along with 150 FBI agents.
NYPD police commissioner Ray Kelly assured New Yorkers that there will security put in place for all NYC theaters showing “The Dark Knight Rises” just as a precaution. He wants New Yorkers to know that are being protected from potential copycat crimes.
The Pentagon told CNN that two Navy troops and two Air Force reservists were wounded in the shooting. President Barack Obama issued the following statement:
“Michelle and I are shocked and saddened by the horrific and tragic shooting in Colorado. Federal and local law enforcement are still responding, and my Administration will do everything that we can to support the people of Aurora in this extraordinarily difficult time. We are committed to bringing whoever was responsible to justice, ensuring the safety of our people, and caring for those who have been wounded. As we do when confronted by moments of darkness and challenge, we must now come together as one American family. All of us must have the people of Aurora in our thoughts and prayers as they confront the loss of family, friends, and neighbors, and we must stand together with them in the challenging hours and days to come.”

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Insanity defense for James Holmes who claimed he was The Joker

Photo and updates of Aurora theater shooting suspect James Holmes