Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I did not see any possibility that a jury was intellectually capable of finding James Holmes as not guilty by reason of insanity. Psychosis is just too confounding for most people to understand. What is clearly evident psycotic, schizophrenia spectrum behavior to the trained eye is not so obvious the most folks, regardless of how intelligent they are.
I expected the guilty verdict, even though I firmly disagree with it - based on my comprehension of schizophrenia and psychosis. What does shock me, however, is that the judge engaged in certain conduct that I consider to be reprehensible.
Judge Carlos Samour actually read the names of the victims to the jury at the time instructions were given to them. That is an inflamatory act that was bound to telescope to the jury the judge's own bias in the matter. If in fact, the accused is so seriously mentally ill that they are deemed to be unculpable for their actions, then the number of the victims, and the horror of the injuries inflicted upon them is not supposed to be the pivotal issue. It would be as if to say...as an arbitrary dictate or statute, that a person cannot be found insane if the number of victims exceeds a specified number, or that the degree of carnage exceeded what our passions can tolerate. So we might expect a medical diagnostic manual to instruct a medical doctor consulting in such a case to base a diagnosis of psychotic illness of a certain severity based on the number of people that were killed and how vilently they were killed- not actual medical symptoms (which in psychosis is predominantly behavioral)
We might just have juries of lay people serving as arbitrators in situations where a second opinion is needed for a complex diagnosis. Why don't I just go to a jury for a second opinion on my cardiologists's diagnosis of heart disease. Schizophrenia spectrum is a far more confounding and complex disease process than heart disease, yet we find juries totally ignoring the testimony of medical doctors - or serving as arbitrators to break a "tie" between competing opinions (with one side in this case likely having a vested interest, i.e. an agenda that is hostile to the insanity defense). That is simply bizarre and illogical.
Another thing that I question is if the instruction to the jurors to avoid media coverage of the case might have been construed as walling themselves off from information about pschizophrenia. Those jurors could not be expected to become educated about a disease so perplexing and complex by sitting in a courtroom. Perhaps the justice system doesn't care if a juror understands schizophrenia. The judge is not expected to understand it, the prosecutors are not expected to understand it... In fact it seems that the law wants these people to remain blissfully ignorant so that they will not be diswayed from going after the gravely sick person with a vengence and trying to put them in prison or to death.
So society's position on mental illness is "Ignorance is bliss".
It's good to see that the jury wasn't fooled by the scam of "mental illness" in this case, and that a vile murderer will be sentenced accordingly. Justice is at least somewhat served. Does the state have capital punishment?
It's good to see that the jury wasn't fooled by the scam of "mental illness" in this case, and that a vile murderer will be sentenced accordingly. Justice is at least somewhat served. Does the state have capital punishment?
So as not to react based on emotion instead of knowledge and logic:
Exactly what do you thing "mental illness" is. Schizophrenia is a very serious medical disorder that most people will never comprehend.
Just because you are hostile to the notion of mental illness being an "excuse" doesn't change the medical science. It only means that most folks don't think they are doing anything wrong by putting a person who is being given anti-psychotic medication to death. Because you don't understand it, you have no idea how barbaric it is to do something like this.
Believe me, James Holmes is on some powerful anti-psychotic medication or he would not have been sitting in that courtroom. He wouldn't have been able to - and I can assure you that the prosecution would not want the jury to see that!
Being mentally ill does not give you a license to kill. In most states you have to be unable to discern right from wrong in order to have a successful insanity defense. Holmes was aware of what he was doing.
Glad to see we have an expert here on CD to tell us these medical diagnosis after treating Holmes for a couple of years, of wait, we don't.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Toyman at Jewel Lake
It's good to see that the jury wasn't fooled by the scam of "mental illness" in this case, and that a vile murderer will be sentenced accordingly. Justice is at least somewhat served. Does the state have capital punishment?
Why need an expert when we have a couch psychologist who has obviously been treating him for years.
He was guilty.
He said he did it. Doesn't really matter why.
The trial was a stupendous waste of time and money.
The result is exactly the same as it would have been if they had just sent him directly to prison based on his guilty plea.
And yes, he was no doubt medicated during the trial and will continue to be for the rest of his life wherever he is incarcerated.
So as not to react based on emotion instead of knowledge and logic:
Exactly what do you thing "mental illness" is. Schizophrenia is a very serious medical disorder that most people will never comprehend.
Just because you are hostile to the notion of mental illness being an "excuse" doesn't change the medical science. It only means that most folks don't think they are doing anything wrong by putting a person who is being given anti-psychotic medication to death. Because you don't understand it, you have no idea how barbaric it is to do something like this.
Believe me, James Holmes is on some powerful anti-psychotic medication or he would not have been sitting in that courtroom. He wouldn't have been able to - and I can assure you that the prosecution would not want the jury to see that!
He murdered many innocent people. I DON'T CARE if he was "disturbed". He needs to be locked up for the rest of his life, or preferably executed. Being a nutcase is not a free ride to slaughter innocent people without consequence.
I don't care if he's crazy as a sh!thouse rat. Lock him up and throw away the key.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
