I have no sympathy for him. He was a bright, young man and he could have done anything with his life that he wanted. He chose to kill a bunch of people. Now he gets to spend the rest of his life in a cage. He'll never marry. He'll never have children or a career. He'll sit in a cell and die after the world forgets about him.

I don't believe him, personally, but I'm not a trained medical professional. He definitely put on a good show if he is faking it. I think he's faking it.

The Jury appears to have determined he was sane. The penalty phase will decide whether he should receive the death penalty.

Off to jail he goes.

Then he will spend his days in a hospital environment and could potentially be released sooner than if he is found guilty and has to face a hard sentence. I personally don't buy the insanity defense.

did lead to more time was John Hinckley. I don't think he met the strict definition of insanity either.

Does anyone think our judicial system has gotten too unwieldy and complex to be sustainable?

Another example is Fred Jackson beaten to death in Vicksburg. That was 3 1/2 years ago and the defendants have yet to come to trial.

http://www.wapt.com/news/central-mississippi/jackson/man-charged-in-2012-slaying-fit-to-stand-trial-judge-says/33381778

It was the DA's insistence on the death penalty that drug this out three years. And I doubt that he would ever be executed anyway. Colorado has executed only one person in the last 38 years.

Is that what a guilty verdict means here?

eom

I realize the families of the murder victims had to wait 3 years to see justice, but at least holmes was in prison those 3 years, and I would rather allow the defense as much time as they need to come up with a defense, to not give them a reason to appeal.

listening live on 850 KOA http://www.iheart.com/live/850-koa-newsradio-389/

This guy has a documented history of schizophrenia. As heinous as this guys actions were, if he in fact does have a history of schizophrenia, this conviction (as it stands) makes me very uneasy and concerned.

Some states have it. The person is first committed to a secure mental health faculty until they are judged stable. Then they are moved to a prison to serve out their sentence.

A person can also be found not guilty by reason of insanity, but the judge can directly commit them
to a mental health facilty. That's what happened to Andrea Yates, who drowned her 5 children. Her conviction was overturned on appeal, but she was immediately committed.

I thought of Andrea Yates, as well.

If this guy has a history of severe mental illness I can't understand assigning the same amount of responsibility as one would to a person that is not this ill.

No, I would not want him simply returned to society, but imprisoning a schizophrenic does not sit well with me.

guilty if he would just get a life sentence. It was the DA who wanted to pursue the death penalty.

Nothing will bring those poor people back or give comfort to the survivors ... but killing a severely mentally ill person (essentially for being severely mentally ill) does not speak well of us.

Even though Colorado has only executed 1 person in 38 years, the DA can't risk looking "soft on crime".

So his decision to pursue the death penalty costs the state millions of dollars and dragged the case out for years. If Holmes does get the death penalty, he gets an automatic appeal which will cost the state more money, and that's just the first appeal. Then add the cost of keeping him on death row instead of in the general population.

The appeals process for Ted Bundy cost the State of Florida $5 Million, and that was over 25 years ago. Having the death penalty is costing some states tens of millions of dollars per year. Disregarding the pro and con moral arguments, our bloodlust is expensive. Here's a good article on the costs of the death penalty.

https://bradnehring.wordpress.com/2011/01/24/executing-prisoners-from-a-financial-viewpoint/

Being seriously mentally ill doesn't matter - even if the illness was the main reason you did it. If a jury thinks you knew right from wrong, you are guilty. This guy also meticulously planned it out.

(I realize you are not saying they are)

It is very troubling that people suffering from severe mental illness can be (and frequently are) prosecuted for the very symptoms of their illness (his actions were heinous and I grieve for his victims and those that loved them), but I am deeply troubled by this.

I mean that you have to be so ill that you can't perform normal functions.

... I agree with regard to juries, but I am extremely uneasy about punishing him for displaying (and acting on) symptoms of his illness.

Without doubt juries tend to need to see acute "stereotypical" symptoms ... it is the way it is, but I don't think it is right

with a barrel of monkeys. I don't know why he did what he did, but that guy went psychotic break textbook style.

It's awful for the families, the loved ones, and the friends of the victims. If he could have gotten the mental health treatment that he needed, maybe this could have been averted. Maybe if we had stricter gun laws this could have been averted. Maybe if we didn't worship violence and objectify it, this could have been averted.

He tried to reach out to his former therapist about an hour or so before the shit storm started. Why? Not sure we'll ever know. I believe he suffered from psychotic depression and schizophrenia. The 'system' ignored this troubled young man and then people are shocked and disgusted when something like this happens.

On Edit: Colorado has one of the worst Mental Health Patient to Bed numbers in the country, and one of the higher suicide rates.

Guns doing their job keeping us all safe...at Columbine, in that theater, at Arapahoe.

You know what? Whether this dirt bag was mentally ill or not; whether he knew right from wrong or not, he can NEVER be out on the streets again. Doesn't matter. He can NEVER be out on the streets again.

I am morally opposed to the death penalty. With the number of charges he was found guilty of he should get life without parole.