In a presentation that could have been a Power Point done in
Hollywood, the prosecutor sought vengeance during the opening of the Aurora
theater trial.
The defense countered with science, and the killer’s known
history of insanity. Twenty psychiatrists who have seen James Holmes since he
killed 12 people during the Batman movie and wounded dozens more have said he
is a florid schizophrenic, the defense said. That means seriously delusional.
The prosecutor, who has been accused of refusing a guilty
plea in order to promote himself for higher office, made several arguments that
were patently absurd.
For example, the facts that the killer had developed an
intricate plan and was of superior intelligence, meant he couldn’t be insane.
Numerous studies have found a link between genius and
insanity.
“Most people inherit a version of a gene that optimizes
their brain’s thinking circuitry, yet also appears to increase risk for
schizophrenia, a severe mental illness marked by impaired thinking, scientists
at the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Mental
Health (NIMH) have discovered. The seeming paradox emerged from the first study
to explore the effects of variation in the human gene for a brain master
switch, DARPP-32,”
ScienceBlogs reported.
The prosecution misrepresented what a court-appointed
psychiatrist had said. They said he had found the killer sane, but his finding
referred to his condition after the shootings when he had undergone strong
medications.
In fact, in an apparent second finding which cost him his
consultancy, he came to a different conclusion about the killer’s mind when the
shootings occurred July 20, 2012.
Prosecutor George Brauchler said that Dr.
Jeffrey Metzner had found the killer was sane.
The Denver Post had previously reported: “The
results of Metzner's exam, which was court-ordered, have not been released
other than that Metzner found Holmes mentally competent enough currently to
stand trial. Prosecutors are challenging Metzner's two other conclusions, one
related to Holmes' sanity at the time of the shooting and one related to
whether Holmes is mentally fit enough to be eligible for the death penalty.”
The defense questioned why jurors, the public and
families of victims were being shown so many graphic photos of the attack. Holmes’
lawyers offered a guilty plea for a life sentence.
The prosecutor wants him executed. Even if he succeeds it
likely will be a decade before that is accomplished, if ever.
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