Accused Aurora Theater Gunman's Parents Break Silence for 1st Time
Source: ABC News
By DAN GOOD
The parents of James Holmes, the man accused in a 2012 movie theater rampage in Colorado, said their son “is not a monster” and expressed hopes that he gets institutionalized in their first public statement since the attack.
“We love our son, we have always loved him and we do not want him to be executed. We also decry the need for a trial,” said Robert and Arlene Holmes in a statement released today through a lawyer, Lisa Damiani.
The Aurora, Colorado, attack left 12 dead and 70 injured. Holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
FULL short story at link.
Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/aurora-theater-shooter-james-holmes-monster-parents/story?id=27714869
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onehandle
(51,122 posts)Gun enthusiasts, come defend millionaire merchants of death.
951-Riverside
(7,234 posts)He is a severely mentally ill man who was able to get his hands on weapons, if anything Gander Mountain and Bass Pro Shops should be held liable for selling him these mass murder weapons but gun shops and gun manufacturers are never held accountable for providing mentally ill people with weapons.
James Holmes is not responsible for these deaths, he is nothing more than a patsy for the gun interests and this trial is nothing more than a lynching of a mentally ill man.
#FreeJamesHolmes
LisaL
(44,973 posts)
AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)Otherwise, the problem lay elsewhere.
I agree, he should be in a medical facility, for his own protection, and that of the public.
Lurks Often
(5,455 posts)The murderer was never entered into the NICS system as mentally ill.
So please explain how the gun shops and gun manufacturers are supposed to know if a customer is mentally ill when the qualified mental health professionals and law enforcement don't do their job?
It has been reported that at least one of the mental health professionals he saw at the University of Boulder considered him dangerous and told the campus police who apparently did nothing.
951-Riverside
(7,234 posts)Thankfully there are some responsible gun peddlers out there.
Lurks Often
(5,455 posts)"Peddling weapons of mass destruction" is an absurd statement, as is thinking retail employees should have the same knowledge that takes a mental health professional years of work to achieve.
Maybe you should place the blame where it really belongs: the University of Boulder campus police, who when told the little monster was a danger to himself and others by a psychiatrist did nothing.
951-Riverside
(7,234 posts)Lurks Often
(5,455 posts)equating firearms with real WMD or think retail employees should be held to some ridiculous standard.
You and those like you who make equally absurd statements are why the gun control crowd keeps losing in the courts, in Congress and the majority of state legislatures.
951-Riverside
(7,234 posts)I'm just curious.
So, are you a gun owner?
beevul
(12,194 posts)951-Riverside
(7,234 posts)His position is that "retail" gun peddlers should be allowed to sell guns to mentally ill people because they're not "qualified mental health professionals".
As a gun owner do you support this?
As I said before, there are responsible gun peddlers out there who do not sell to mentally ill people.
beevul
(12,194 posts)The retailer in question followed the law, did a background check, and holmes passed it.
I support making a sale when the individual in question passes a background check. Do you?
It isn't their fault that holmes was never entered into the system, nor are they responsible for making a "bad" sale because of it.
"His position is that "retail" gun peddlers should be allowed to sell guns to mentally ill people because they're not "qualified mental health professionals"."
No.
It appears you aren't interested in discussion, and would rather play ideological gotcha.
Lurks Often
(5,455 posts)That is not my position at all, of course mentally ill people like this murderer should not be allowed to purchase firearms. The problem is that the murderer was never entered into the NICS system as mentally ill. The campus psychiatrist and campus police, both aware that he had been considered a danger to himself and others, appear to have done nothing to have the murderer taken before a judge, declared mentally incompetent and committed to an inpatient mental health setting where maybe he could have been treated.
Lurks Often
(5,455 posts)HERVEPA
(6,107 posts)Ykcutnek
(1,305 posts)Lurks Often
(5,455 posts)they would have gotten him some help BEFORE he murdered 12 people and injured 70 more.
And yes, their son is a monster, one who should never be allowed freedom ever again.
hack89
(39,171 posts)The real failure was with the University of Colorado
One of Holmes' psychiatrists suspected, prior to the shooting, that Holmes suffered from mental illness and could be dangerous. A month before the shooting, Dr. Lynne Fenton reported to the campus police that he had made homicidal statements.[45]Two weeks prior to the shooting, he sent a text message asking a graduate student if the student had heard of the disorder dysphoric mania, and warning the student to stay away from him "because I am bad news".[46]
Hoppy
(3,595 posts)Forcing psychological intervention is difficult.
Lurks Often
(5,455 posts)and it isn't as difficult as you make it out to be. A campus psychiatrist had considered him a threat to himself and others, reported it to the campus police and nothing was done.
The murderer should have been taken before a judge, presented with the testimony from the campus psychiatrist that he was a danger to himself and others and committed pending treatment.
Ykcutnek
(1,305 posts)Loses all credibility.
Thankfully, people who think that way will never be in the majority.
