James Holmes will get off...

Here...you can help...

How many insanity defenses have you seen result in a dismissal? Not a plea, but a dismissal or "not guilty" verdict? They all end in a custodial disposition (that I've seen) with them being treated for their condition from prison.

 

The scary part is that with all his studies of schziophrenia and other mental disorders, he may just know exactly how to play the system. I hope he doesn't get away with it. Life in prison is too good for him. Someone that took at least 2 to 3 months to plan something like this....didn't "just snap."

 

Trust me, he will be treated for his mental illness while in prison. This isn't the movies. He's not getting out.

 

Is he insane or is the Joker insane? You have to remember that the character he is trying to portray is crazy and very popular to emulate. Taking this into consideration, I think the prosecution should have a pretty easy time proving that he was just trying to play make believe.

 

Except that he told the police his home was booby trapped, which is not the actions of a madman. At least that's what the prosecution should claim.

 

Well, for you to believe that you are the joker, who is insane, you'd have to be crazier than the joker.

However, I don't care. He shot a little kid and I'm for feeding him to the bears.

 

Defense will have an "insanely" difficult time proving that he honestly believes he's the Joker. That was my point. Because the character, himself, is insane and he is so popular to portray. Then couple this with Holmes's background in neuroscience, as JP5 pointed out, which would provide him with an understanding of how to feign mental illness. And the prosecution will, no doubt, point this out.

James Holmes was a nerd who wanted attenton. That's all this will boil down to. That's all it ever boils down to.

 

This can't go to a jury or they will be unsympathetic to the insanity defense just as they were unsympathetic to Timothy McVeigh.

 

Well, there IS a Judge Dredd movie coming out in September ...

 

And many are NEVER released...had he plead guilty (or been found guilty), John Hinckley would probably be a free man by now.

 

"Insanity" has no clinical meaning. It is a legal term. Offhand, Charles Manson is clearly nuttier than a sack of cashews...but LEGALLY, he is sane Ditto for Gacy.

 

the only way this joker is getting off is if he's gay and likes it rough in the shower. i predict an ending similar to Jeffery Dahmer.

interesting factoid i just found: WI's best Laotian cook shares my birthday.

 

Does Colorado have a "guilty but insane" verdict?

Only good I can see it doing him is to avoid a death sentence.

(Not that it will do him much good if he goes into general population.)

 

The Alford Plea is similar. It is rarely used but means that you agree that there is enough evidence to convict, but want to maintain your own innocence outside of the courtroom. Sometimes this can be used in criminal cases where "insanity" is flirted with. The problem with pleading innocent by reason of is that you must actively defend and prove that you were insane. Reasonable doubt is no longer applicable...again, I speak for the states I've worked in but I assume Colorado is the same.

 

The fact that he warned police does not disprove insanity.

 

Makedde,,,, I think the guy snapped, blew a fuse if you like.

I can see him locked up, possibly in some mental institution in a padded cell.

 

Too many people commit crimes and then claim mental illness. It is about time it stopped, IMO.

 

Yeah,, I know mate, it does happen a lot, but look at the case of Martin Bryant,, an absolute nutter.

For those who've not heard of Martin Bryant, he is an Australian mass murderer. Shot and killed 35 people in Tasmania in 1996. Up until the shootings in Norway last year, Bryant's shootings was the highest incident of mass shootings the world has seen.

"Descriptions of Bryant's behaviour as an adolescent show that he continued to be disturbed and outline the possibility of mental retardation. He was revealed to have an I.Q. of 66, equivalent to an 11-year-old and in the bottom 1.17 percent of the Australian population, and was possibly autistic. Further testing following his arrest indicated a verbal I.Q. of 64 and non-verbal reasoning and cognitive functioning of 68, giving a full scale I.Q. of 66, an age equivalent of 11 years in the 10th percentile (90% of 11 year olds would score higher). On leaving school he was assessed for a disability pension by a psychiatrist who wrote: "Cannot read or write. Does a bit of gardening and watches TV ... Only his parents' efforts prevent further deterioration. Could be schizophrenic and parents face a bleak future with him." Bryant received a disability pension, though he also worked as a handyman and gardener."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Bryant

 

I know. And we have him in prison not in hospital where he can get help. He treated him like (*)(*)(*)(*) and I don't even think he got a fair trial.

 

did he do it?

 

Not necessarily. Considering the amount of premeditation involved in the commission of the crime, it is doubtful Holmes is legally insane in the capacity that he did not know right from wrong at the time of the offense. He does not appear to be any more insane than Ted Kaczynski.

 

If he killed 35 people, he should be in the grave, not in a prison or a hospital, and I do not give a whit how mentally incompetent he is.

 

Won't work out like that.. Holmes will be found insane and guilty.

 

Are you serious? I would never say that someone should be killed for anything they do due to mental problems, or even if they don't have mental problems for that matter.

The priority should be prevention over punishment. That, at it's core, is the problem with the way prisons and the justice system is run in America, and it endangers good people's lives.

 

Mate,, the Martin Bryant shootings were (and still are) so horrific the media instantly jumped on the band wagon. The Bryant case was a typcal trial by media, as was Lindy Chamberlain's case. Bryant's case was in the media for months, even during the actual trial. Nothing sells newspapers more than horrific deeds and scandal.

Having said this, I'm glad Bryant is behind bars and never to be released.