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Subscribe to RSSSuspect James Holmes, who seemed dazed and unengaged in court last week, on Monday appeared alert and attentive as a judge told him he faced 142 separate felony charges. NBC's Mike Taibbi reports.
Prosecutors on Monday filed two sets of first-degree murder charges against James Eagan Holmes for each of the of 12 deaths that occurred during a theater massacre in Aurora, Colo., on July 20, effectively laying the groundwork for a fallback strategy in the event Holmes’ lawyers successfully mount an insanity defense.
The dual charges — "murder with deliberation" and killing with "extreme indifference to the value of human life" — give the jury a choice of two avenues to a potential death penalty sentence under Colorado law, NBC's Pete Williams reported.
Under state law, murder with deliberation is equivalent to premeditated murder, while the "extreme indifference” charge covers actions that demonstrate "an attitude of universal malice."
It isn’t unusual for prosecutors to file two murder charges for one victim in Colorado, according to a prosecutor cited by the Aurora Sentinel.
"It’s very common for prosecutors to charge cases in all of the various ways that they believe they can prove a case," Karen Steinhauser, a former Denver prosecutor now in private practice, told the paper.
Holmes, who appeared briefly in court Monday morning to hear the charges against him, also was charged with 116 counts of attempted murder, as well as one count of illegal possession of explosives, according to court documents.
A former University of Colorado graduate student, Holmes is accused of carrying out the bloody attack on moviegoers at the midnight premiere of "A Dark Knight Rises" after wiring his apartment with enough explosives to have leveled the building if they had detonated.
In Aurora massacre, trial may not shed much light on motive
During his second appearance in court since his arrest, the defendant spoke once, saying "yes" to waive his right to a preliminary hearing within 35 days, according to a tweet by Denver Post courts reporter John Ingold.
The trial could turn on questions of Holmes' state of mind, Craig Silverman, a former chief deputy district attorney in Denver, told the Associated Press.
"I don't think it's too hard to predict the path of this proceeding," he said. "This is not a whodunit. ... The only possible defense is insanity."
According to the law in Colorado, defendants are not legally liable for their acts if they cannot differentiate between right and wrong, the report said. However, "Care should be taken not to confuse such mental disease or defect with moral obliquity, mental depravity or passion growing out of anger, revenge, hatred or other motives, and kindred evil conditions," the law stipulates, the AP said.
Drawn-out timeline
The court schedule suggests that Holmes will not enter a plea until at least the week of Nov. 12, NBC News' correspondent Mike Taibbi reported. The timing allows for deliberation on how much evidence will remain sealed from public view, including communications between Holmes and a psychiatrist at the University of Colorado.
Last week, law enforcement gained possession of a package that Holmes apparently mailed to the psychiatrist, Lynne Fenton, before the attack. Unconfirmed reports said that the package, which had not yet been delivered to Fenton, contained a notebook with writings and illustrations of shootings.
Holmes' attorneys said Fenton had been treating their client and that all communication should remain private under doctor-patient privilege. News organizations have asked the judge to unseal the contents of the package and communications between Holmes and Fenton.
Not until after the plea is entered would the prosecution announce whether it will pursue the death penalty for Holmes if he is convicted of first-degree murder. Prosecutors have said they would seek input from victims before making that decision.
The minimum sentence for first-degree murder in Colorado is life in prison, Taibbi reported.
Poll: Views on gun laws unchanged after Aurora theater massacre
Holmes was enrolled in the neuroscience Ph.D. program at the university but withdrew in June. Neighbors said withdrawal from the program would likely have triggered his eviction from the building, which is reserved for people affiliated with the school.
Investigators said Holmes had amassed weapons, ammunition and explosives over the course of several months.
He was arrested in the parking lot of the Century Aurora 16 theater shortly after the shootings and told officers his apartment contained explosives, police said. That information prompted evacuation of Holmes' apartment building and those surrounding it until law enforcement teams could disarm the jumble of wires and explosive devices set to detonate by trip wires.
Police said he referred to himself as Joker, an apparent reference to one of the villains in the Batman comic series.
In his initial court appearance on July 23, Holmes was dressed in red prison garb, and had his hair dyed bright red. He looked off into the distance or down at the table, at times knitting his brow in a quizzical expression or as if he was trying to concentrate. He did not speak.
In this second appearance, no cameras were allowed in court. Holmes appeared with his hands and feet shackles according to the Sentinel. He was unshaven and his hair color had faded, it said.
Denver Post courts reporter John Ingold tweeted from the hearing that "Holmes was more put together today. His hair was combed — though still red. He seemed to pay attention. Not quite engaged, but listening."
According to another tweet from the courthouse from Coloradoan reporter Trevor Hughes, "suspect Holmes showed no reaction when judge told him he faces poss. death penalty sentence if convicted of murder."
The courtroom was packed on Monday, reported Denver Post staff reporter Kristen Painter, with an overflow room for victims and family who could not get in or did not want to be in the room.
Painter tweeted: "A woman, escorted by victims advocate, walked into courtroom crying-clutching a photo of 6-year-old Veronica & her mother," — a reference to Veronica Moser-Sullivan, the youngest victim to die in the shooting, and her mother Ashley Moser, who was critically wounded.
Holmes will not face an additional homicide charge for the miscarriage suffered by Moser after she was injured in the shooting, NBC's Leanne Gregg reported.
More content from NBCNews.com:
- Family: Mom wounded in Aurora suffers miscarriage
- Sources: Kidnap victim found tied up in detective's garage
- 3 killed in Pa.; suspect fled with daughter, 4
- Video: 'Full of life' -- Colo. victims mourned
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I thank the President for all the kind words and acts regarding this horrific event. Did I miss his words regarding the 2 American and hundreds murdered from Fast & Furious? Or is it under Executive Privilege claims?
IT WORKED....OBAMA BUILT
thats different do as i say not as i do.
I didn't miss the words from Obama but I did miss the words of condolence from Bush.
Fast & Furious was a good movie but Tokyo Drift was much better.
Well Obama is running for pres again of course he would speak on it, words are only words. Mr Bush doesn't need to focus on public opinion anymore.
WOW!
Look @ all the people that want this guy dead before a trial! Screw the Constitution, right? I mean, you're ALL positive about the person they claim they got aren't you??? I want to see pictures or camera footage. Somehow, I don't trust the details of how they brought him in. I know SOMEONE has pictures. EVERYONE has a camera on these days!
Yes, i would like to see some pictures of when he was taken in to. I think it's a crime to let him even walk away, what a waste of money. He should have shot on the spot, they said he took his armor off, that was a good time to, it's a sad situation.
"He is not insane.
He is in his own world that eliminates any contact with the Real World."
I guess I'm confused as to how that isn't a pretty good description of a type of insanity. I don't know if this guy is insane. I think there's a good chance of it. However one thing I am absolutely certain of is that no one posting here knows either. Sometimes that's a hard call for trained experts with access to the accused to make. I'm ignoring "expert witnesses" who will typically say whatever they're paid to say.
I'm also confused about the DA's office wanting to consult with the victims' families. Are they deferring that decision to them? They are grief stricken and hardly objective. In my view it is the DA's responsibility to make that kind of decisions, based on the facts as they can best determine them. I guess I'm jaded, but her statement smacks more of PR than anything else.
My condolences to all affected. Regardless of whether he is evil or insane, your loss and suffering remain.
The insanity excuses & mental defects defense are ridiculous, insane or not, memoryor not, the man killed in cold blood & needs to be remove permanently from society. There is only way to guaranteed these monsters won't be released to continue taking lives of others.
Well now. I think it just makes me sick that when they catch him in the act of committing the crime it is still Alleged shooter. I think the Internet companies should get sued for providing him with 100 round clips. You think the NRA will help them in their time of need? I think not. And why doesn't anyone stand up to them anyway? OH because they provide money and POWER. I say screw them. Nobody needs an assault rifle to go hunting with. Maybe a shotgun, handgun ( with limited rounds ) , and a regular rifle. Everything else should be for the military and police. I'm all for the second amendment but to go to extremes it ridiculous.
Thats a stupid remark, do you know how fast someone can change clips? So he walks in with 20 ten round clips and shoots twice as many people, are you then going to say we need a new law that requires us to put some device on our guns that only allow one clip change per hour????
phonedude, they did not catch him in the act. They got him in the parking lot, reading comprehension is lacking I guess.
They didn't catch him in the act. He surrendered after the act.
Sure everybody colors their hair orange gets some guns and kills a bunch of people without blinking.
Wake up people, this guy was drugged. Unless you are willing to investigate the CIA fully then you are not willing to get to the bottom of these types of mass murders. They look for people who are loaners, who are under psychiatric care or someone who might have a grudge. This was black ops. Period. Look at the film of this guy in court. Look at his life. Ask yourself why was this guy kept from seeing ANYONE for 48 hours. WHY? Why wasnt blood taken early on in the arrest. Surely he must have appeared under some influence. Nothing makes sense which is exactly what "they" want.
I agree...to an extent. I don't know about that conspiracy but the whole thing is very fishy.. He also looks NOTHING like the pic of him that's circulating. Why is it we only have one other pic of him???
That's just too far fetched for my belief system. He's a whack job.
Holy crap, you paranoid delusionals do exist. Watch out! here comes a black helicopter, put on your tin-foil helmets.
I see you're very big on word-of-mouth. It may not be a government conspiracy but a lot of things just don't add up if you don't just accept what's told to you.
Put down the crack pipe and slowly back away.
This is actually a case where they should not give him the death penalty. Those types of cases take to long. They can have this over with in 6 months with jail time..like how quick the Sandusky trial went...
To much additional pain for the relatives....
Guns don't kill, insane people with guns do...
Guns don't kill people...Bullets kill people. America has become a sick place.
what am i hearing now that he had been seeing a doctoring for mental health issues and they knew he could be a danger to the public. I heard very little about this and not sure if it is even true or not.
No, it is not true. Nothing regarding his history of mental health treatment has been confirmed. Those rumors are the result of people with very low reading comprehension skills looking for a target to blame for a senseless and unpredictable tragedy.
Exactly, DOCJT.
Furthermore, the man is educated and intelligent. He could very easily fake that "Who am I? Where am I?" bullsh!t that he tried to pull off in court. Helpful hint: do not look at your attorney's notes with a suddenly focused stare. No matter how quickly you recover your "I'm so confused" look, you're outed.
Do not waste tax payers money. Convert the killer to crackers and feed the hungry.
case dismissed...
We'll let you take the first bite.
Waste of our court time. Period
For the next thirty days friends and family can visit then lethal or electricity for his sentence. End of Story
this very very smart young man knew what he was doing i pray to god that he does'nt pull the wool over the judge,jury or anyone eyes thinking that he crazy he has more degress than you can count,he plan this killing because that what it was and he excute it..he playing everyone at least that what i think, he should spend the rest of his life behind bars,because puting him to death will not bring anyone back..but on the other hand if death is the only way the familes of victims can feel some kind of satisfaction then so be it, i say let the victims familes decide his fate he found gulity death or life.........
More degrees than you can count? I think most people on the vine can count up to 2.
Insanity...yes...Premeditated...ABSOLUTELY He purchased all the material to make the explosives...cobbled them to go off 'when' officials went to investigate his apartment. He knew the extent of damage said explosives would cause to his apartment building and surrounding area. Was able to purchase all his weapons without causing retailers to question his reason for said weapons. Passed all local and federal requirements for weapons purchased. Must have been purchasing all materials over an extended period of time. Long time to be "planning" out his 'thought process'.
Day of 'attack'; finalizing materials to explode 'when' officials came to investigate, plan on timing to commence deadly attack of attendee's inside movie theater, plan on how to retrieve arsenal and armor, how to commence once armed inside theater.
This is all theoretical of course but clearly there is premeditation for his actions.
To enter the movie theater as a paying attendee, exit through fire exit and block the door from closing, putting on armor, retrieving weapons/gas canisters, reenter through fire exit and then commencing his murderous attack on innocent patrons.
PREMEDITATION....in my opinion, and he should pay dearly for his actions. Insane...yes for "conceiving" such a heinous plan.
We need to go back to the days when a jury was picked in the next couple of days, trial was held the same week and after the trial is over the killer is marched down the street to the gallows. Insanity? Who could possibly be called sane who would do something like this. Get on with the trial and cut the nonsense.
Yeah, that's a SURE WAY to ensure they put the RIGHT person behind bars, right???
Exactly, CPH. And we have ethical and legal restrictions on executing the mentally incompetent. So, if he is not sane, the laws of this land forbid his execution.
Your very argument contains some degree of disturbance in your thought processes.
He doesn't deserve a trial. He doesn't deserve the time of day the media is giving him. He doesn't deserve a damn thing. Push him off a cliff and be done with it.
He does deserve a trial, as we live in the United States of America and not North Korea or Iran. The right to a fair trial is an essential right of all countries that respect the rule of law. Regardless of the crime that right remains.
Thank you Mike!
Doesnt anyone think that the timing of this attack is real COINCIDENTAL??? Here we are on the brink of the vote on the "international small arms treaty"? These things are set in motion months in advance. People dont just snap like this without a complete psychotic break happening. Ask any drill instructor and he'll tell you what it takes to turn the average citizen into a killer, it takes weeks of intensive training where they break people down and rebuild them. This guy was a manchurian candidate. The coverup began as soon as he was arrested. Period.
Again, GMSM,
Put down the crack pipe, and slowly back away.
Well its about time. Im not an angry or hateful man by nature but i feel thay should start making examples of ppl like this by torturing them. Nothing too extreme like tearing fingernails out but the kind used for terrorists. Sleep deprivation. Living naked in a freezing cold cell..things like that. And after torturing him they should kill him. Revive him...bring him back to life. And kill him again. What this man did makes my blood boil. Especially the fact that he took the life of a poor 6 yr old girl
Where is your anger at the gun lobby for allowing people like this to get assault weapons?
The gun lobbyists didnt kill 11 ppl and a 6 year old girl.
We should be very concerned for the people such as Stew that are walking around in our society. They are truly dangerous people.
do not blame people who didnt do this there is only one person responsible and only one no one else and nothing else as much as people would like to put a spin on this.
When your blood stops boiling, then let your brain take over.
HA! Wow. so i guess you ppl think that this monster should be treated like a poor innocent young man that just made a little mistake. Slap him on the wrist and release him back into society. How would u feel if your 6 yr old daughter gunned down right in front of u. I'm sure the families of the victims feel the exact way i do.
And why am i a danger to society for wanting severe justice brought to this scum. U ppl got this whole thing ass backward. Its ppl like u that let child rapists off with light sentences so that they can go out and brutally rape and kill again
the first thing i would do is shave this pos's head. the sheriff should be ashamed of himself to let this scroat sit in his jail with orange bozo hair.
All I can say, (and pray) is God help him and the families impacted by this .
Finally, someone who thinks more like Jesus than the Taliban. Thank you.
Firing squad volunteers anyone? Let him know what it feels like to be shot dead.
Let him put his body armor on and then the firing squad, UNTIL DEAD. Kind of like a stoning.
Not only should this guy stop drinking the cool aid, he should stop dipping his head in it. He's already begun "acting" confused as described at the end of this article. We'll see how good of an actor he is.
What's with the conspiracy theories? They brought the killer into jail WEARING HIS BODY ARMOR. And what? These conspiracy theorists don't believe the victims in the theater who WITNESSED the acts? I don't get it. Where's the conspiracy?
Where's the PROOF????
Ahhh, Siter Bun, the very nature of conspiracy theories is that there are illogical and distorted thought processes behind those theories. Could well be considered a mental illness in it's own right.
Why is the obvious breaking news!?
Once again another gun nut job thinks he could have taken him out with one shot. Hey idiot...he was wearing body armour. YOU probably would have taken out another couple of people. Bring Back the assault weapons ban and require gun owners who have these weapons to have insurance on assault weapons. After all they are meant for nothing else but killing human beings.
once again if guns are outlawed only criminals will have guns i want to own assault weapons and i will legally i want the right to protect my family if you dont then dont buy a gun. if someone drive their car into a crowd of people which it has happened and they end up killing people what do you want to do ban all cars or when there is a plane accident kills 200 ban all planes this world will never be neat and clean like you want it. sorry.
SHEEP you all are. All so positive that THIS is the man they "caught" after he surrendered. When was the last time U saw police draw weapons on someone and not shoot, ESPECIALLY after he just shot up a crowd??? NOTHING makes sense, from the actual shooting to the arrest, to the lack of footage of this guy being transferred anywhere. COME ON the press is EVERYWHERE! You mean NO reporters were able to get a shot of him getting hauled away??
You all are so quick to believe something without any proof or evidence!
put the crack pipe down and stay off the internet you nutjob