James Holmes' Only Chance Of Escaping Death Penalty Is To Prove Insanity

Mon, July 23, 2012 7:46pm EDT by Billy Nilles 34 Comments

After his first court appearance, noted lawyers tell HollywoodLife.com exclusively that James and his attorney have a long and difficult road ahead of them. Read on for details.

James Holmes, the 24-year-old man accused of shooting 71 people July 20 during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado was arraigned July 23, during which he was informed he will be charged with first degree murder. Colorado is a death penalty state, which we’ve learned James will have a tough time avoiding.

Steve Cron, a noted Santa Monica, California criminal defense lawyer, tells HollywoodLife.com exclusively, “Well, my assessment is his only hope is [if] the jury says he is mentally incompetent or if the jury says he has some mental incapacities…[If] the defense can show that he really was kind of crazy, delusional, maybe that would be grounds.”

He continues, though, “Well is it possible [to avoid the death penalty]? Yes. When you kill that many people and plan with booby traps, it sure looks like he was planning it for a long time, and I would say it’s going to be a tough case for him to try and avoid the death penalty.”

Noted Los Angeles attorney Mychal Wilson adds, “James’…defense must show that he was insane at the time the act was committed and not now…To mount his insanity defense, [his] attorneys must show that he lacked the mental capacity to know the difference between right and wrong and that he does not understand the charges against him.”

When we asked what could be expected next for this case, Steve said, “Trial, if there is a full-on trial. I’m guessing it will be a year from now. He’s not getting out. Maybe they work out a settlement, he pleads guilty and he doesn’t get the death penalty. I think that’s unlikely…I think the prosecution is going to seek the death penalty and likely he’ll get it. If it’s not going to be death, life without possible in parole.”

Steve summed it up plainly: “Nobody is going to be sympathetic for him. He’s in a tough position.”

What do you think, HollywoodLifers? Do you think James will be given the death penalty?

– Reporting by Nicole Karlis and Sandra Clark, Written by Billy Nilles

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Really the kids damned anyway god will deal with him

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He deserves to sit in jail for 6 months knowing hes gonna die….

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They say no one is sympathetic about him. Me! I am very sympathetic for him, I do not wish him free, but I wish for no death upon him.

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death penality still exists in the states? thats insane! the guy is crazy deserve to rotte in jail and suffer till the day he dies! but it is nobodies places to take someones else life . you kill holmes ur as bad as him. let him suffer in a cell all alone !

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simple as this, he had no remorse for the people he shot,wether he is insane or not, he did something beyond crazy.their is no excuse for any of this behavior and sedistic people like himself should be given the death penalty without a doubt. it shouldnt even go to courts.. he never gave those 70+ people a chance so why should he be given a chance to get away with just life sentence.. he should never seek forgivness. no body in their right mind would forgive such a phsyco. in my mind, the death penalty should be greater, the chair is just to old, the injection is just to easy of a way out for him, either he should be hanged, or should be brought in a room and shot just like he did to those people. he took away innocent peoples lives away without even caring, why should we care if he survives,,,

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Here’s a better way of looking at it. A dog with rabies gets put down for being too aggressive. A monkey that attacks gets put down for being too aggressive. Any animal that attacks gets killed. They don’t have morality or ‘humanity’. We do. He knew it was wrong. He’s messed up, not legally insane. He deserves death penalty and is lucky to even have a trial. So for anyone who believes that any rabid animal should be put down, than you believe in the death penalty. Seriously how would you feel if your husband or wife was killed by this guy? Bet you’d expect death. We’re animals at heart. Read up on biology.

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100% agree with you Amanda.

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I don’t really believe in the death penalty, except maybe for downright evil serial killers. What James did was beyond horrible, but he’s obviously demented. NO one would do something like what he did in a clear, normal state of mine. Even the majority of serial killers, commit their murders in secret, hide the bodies, ect. James did very little to avoid being caught, committing his crime in an open public place, under the delusion that he was someone else. He was obviously not of sound mind. Not only that, but he’s SO young. Not that this is an excuse for what he did. He must pay for his crime, by either spending a longtime, or possible life in prison, but he deserves a chance to grasp what he did, and seek forgiveness.

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You really think that killing 12 people from ages 6 to 51 isn’t evil? He’s obviously not demented, he was a very smart young man and was in med school studying neuroscience.. Also he planned this crime for a long time, it wasn’t just something he planned in that moment he even took his dear time to booby-trap his apartment, usually people that are not all there and don’t know right from wrong don’t do that… Plus I really don’t think he deserves to live after this, I think if he felt like killing someone he should’ve just shot himself in the head to begin with…

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Actually, you are quite mistaken. People with psychotic problems in the past that have committed similar crimes have been super book smart AND spent months planning and plotting. Look it up, or open a psychology book, you’ll see.

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Some people loose their right to live, this person lost his when he single-handedly, cold-bloodedly, well-planned butchered those innocent people, psychotic or not, he does not deserve any kind of mercy.

If you think that by spending his time in jail for a very long time in jail will changed him once he’s out ?ur kidding ?, he will probably do the same thing again in the future, thats why the state is considering death penalty heavily

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I hope, for the sake of the victims and their families, that this will not be a casey anthony repeat. He may be smart, but he is a BAD ACTOR. Anyone, especially someone like him who knows he could face the death penalty, can sit there and pretend to be delusional. His facial expressions were actually VERY PREDICTABLE. I can only hope that the jury will see right through him and come out with a justifiable verdict ( = the death penalty). He took lives. His life needs to be taken. A life sentence would not be justice. For those of you who think he would have it harder in jail for the rest of his life and that he would be beat up by other inmates etc., unfortunatly are NAIVE. Please dont let this piece of scum fool you.

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No He Shouldnt Be Kileed Because iTs Only God Decision & iKnow He Killed Them But Stuff Happens For A Reasonn & iF Hes iNsane That May Be A Problem. Now A Days People Get Bullied & Stuff & We Dont Do Nothing & That Makess Them Hate Their Life & Peoples Lifes & Makes Them iNsane Or To Think Wrong Like Killing So iThink We Should Pay More Attention To Kids These Days & What They Doo & To Not Watchh “iLuminati Stuff” iBeieve iN This & Maybe Thiss Guy Had Problemss & He Decided To Be iLuminati & That Drove Him iNsane Or The iLuminati People Told Him To Soo Pay Attention To Your Kidss & Help Them iNstead Of Judging SomeOne ..T Youu Dont Know Whatss Their Storyy & Remember God Does Things For A Reasoon & That Lil Wayne Video “My Homies Still” iS Creepy Because Theirs 12 Skeletons iN The Movie Theatre & iDk iF iTs Truee But All iKnow iS Hes iLuminati Too … & iKnow They Were iNnocent But Maybe This iS Tryna Tell Us To Take Moree Of Our Kidss Or Look More At What They Doo Or Get Them Help iF They Need iT … ONLY G O D CAN JUDGE US! But He Usedd To Be A Good Kid Guy But Like iWas Sayin We Didnt Know What He Went Through & Yall Should Search iLuminati & People Who Are Yall Will Be iMpressed & This iS My Opinion So Dont Judgee …

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can you “news ” people not get another shot of htis idiot? i can’t stand to look at this ugly smug face. murderer of children and people doesn’t deserve to have his picture up at all. his parents should be locked up too for letting this piece of garbage walk the streets when clearly he is deranged beyond words. there is no chance that parents would not have noticed he is “off”, unless of course they are schizo as well. which i’m sure they are. can’t wait to hear o fhis death penalty. i hope someone in prison slowly cuts of his body parts first. then have him wait 1 year for a death sentence without his limbs.

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I agree he shoulld get the death penalty he killed those innocent people why should he be able to live imagine how the families feel about there sons daughters parents taken away from them…

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Yes, James Holmes deserves the death penalty whether he is proven insane or not. Those affected by what he did want closure and the death penalty is the best closure they can get, but dammit they have to wait a long time for the trial to end and the sentence to be rendered by the judge. This case should move forward now and not force the victims to wait as that is torture to them. Kill James Holmes and move on with life after his life is snuffed out. The nation wants him dead so kill him and get it over with now.

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killing him will only give him what he wants. he knows he’s messed up and knows he would be caught, so the way out is death. i wouldn’t want to rot away in prision for the rest of my life, that’d be worse I think. Getting a shot to be put to sleep is the easy way out.

And also–think about it, we are saying killing is wrong by killing? doesn’t make sense. I don’t sympothize with him at all, what he did was terrible. But giving closure to those affected by killing him, does that REALLY make their suffering any better? Does it bring back their loved ones? No. It doesn’t.

If they do kill him, kill him a painful, slow way instead of just injecting him. That seems much more peaceful then dying in a fire, hanging, electric chair, or in prision by other inmates.

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If dying was what he wanted after killing all of these people then he would’ve shot himself in the head right after, he had the chance, but he didn’t because he’s a coward and he thought he can go to jail and plead insanity so he can go to a mental hospital for the rest of his life and possibly even plot an escape or some crap like that, that’s what he wants, of course killing him wouldn’t bring back the poor people he killed but at least the families don’t have to wonder why he gets to live and their daughter/son/sister/brother/mother/father doesn’t…. That’s my opinion.

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I agree with others on here who are saying he does not need a trial. It’s not like there’s a possibility it’s not him. He is clearly guilty but I think he is beyond insane, if there is such a level.

Send him to a maximum mental ward for the rest of his natural life and let the memories of the faces, screams and bloody bodies of the innocent people he killed haunt him until he dies.

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he deserves A Death Penalty!!! a brilliant student? a scumbag I guess..If he could avoid death penalty, went to jail, got out…then what? he could do that again.. gunning or mebbe worst…bombing.

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I do not believe that we will gain anything from executing this young man. He is clearly ill, he was a brilliant student before something went terribly wrong. My heart goes out to all parties involved.

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Agreed. He should not be given the death penalty.

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good. let him live so he can plot his next murder against all of your family members and friends. you idiot.

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you’re an idiot. how do you know he was a”brilliant “student. even if you are getting your info from the internet, read carefully and you’ll see his grades were poor during his PHD studies. he couldn’t find a job anywhere. he barely got a job at mcdonalds after university. and you call him “brillliant”. he killed a child and young and older people, with families and aspiring people with hope and dreams and you justify these garbage piece of crap by say ing “something went terribly wrong”. you’re an idiot. hope he gets you and your family members next if he doesn’t get death.

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What he did is absolutely atrocious but he must have been brilliant, you kinda have to be brilliant to be studying at a PhD level…

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if you think he should go after that family then you are as bad as he is.

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if you really think that he should go after their family if he doesn’t get death then you are as bad as him

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YES we will gain something people like him are waste of space dont need in the world. Kill him and all the poor victims will get justice.

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He deserves the death penalty for what he did to all those innocent people.

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I think he deserves the death penalty! No point in wasting tax payers dollars for this low-life scumbag coward to sit around and wait for a verdict. He knows that he killed those innocent sons, daughters, wives, husbands, etc. and for that he should pay. If we have the “death penalty” then why is it rarely used? Why waste millions of tax payers dollars for these guys to live and breathe when their victims are now buried or will have serious complications for the rest of their lives?

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Actually it costs more money to execute a prisoner than it does to house and feed them for the rest of their life. Look it up.

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The death penalty actually costs more than keeping someone in prision. It equals thousands of tax payers money.

I think killing him will only give him what he wants. he knows he’s messed up and knows he would be caught, so the way out is death. i wouldn’t want to rot away in prision for the rest of my life, that’d be worse I think. Thinking day in and day out about what you did, that guilt would get to you. Getting a $2,500 shot to be put to sleep is the easy way out.

If they do kill him, kill him a painful, slow way instead of just injecting him. That seems much more peaceful then dying in a fire, hanging, electric chair, or in prision by other inmates.

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in my opinion he should get death penalty why wait rest of his life to be in prison or whatever he will end up.. he does not deserve it for living a life the way killing 71 people are no excuses for avoiding the death penatly and honestly i dont care about him and wish him no mercy on God for his soul.. 71 people innocent for thier own life i feel bad and wish praying for them to send him in hell…

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Everybody jst stop talking bout James let the judge decide eat to do with him all yo’ll shall have mercy god said to have mercy on everyoneeve on the animal am out all y’all are lane lo life

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