Colorado rampage: Legally, focus to be death penalty, expert says

Colorado shooting suspect James E. Holmes is expected to make his first appearance Monday morning in a court case that appears so clear-cut that at least one expert said the legal machinations could come down to one straightforward question:

If he's convicted, does the suspect deserve the death penalty?

"It is all but certain that prosecutors will file first-degree murder charges against Holmes in the Arapahoe County courthouse and that they'll seek the death penalty, criminal law expert Sam Kamin, a law professor at the University of Denver, told the Los Angeles Times.

Kamin predicts that as the case moves forward, points of dispute between the prosecution and the defense will revolve less on the question of what Holmes did or did not do on Friday morning, and more on his state of mind at the time.

"The evidence of his guilt is pretty strong," Kamin said. "The ... case for death is strong. So the question becomes, what is the case for mitigation? Is there a history of mental illness? Is there some instance of abuse in the past? Is there anything in the defendant's past that might make a jury willing to spare him?

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Source: Los Angeles Times, July 22, 2012

If guilty, shooter likely to die in jail

The current hard-line district attorney for Arapahoe County is likely to seek capital charges for accused mass murderer James Holmes — but she will be out of office in five months and Colorado has not executed a single prisoner in nearly 35 years, experts note.

“If they do go for death it will cost tens of millions of dollars at a time when Colorado is shutting down elementary schools,” said University of Colorado Institute of Behavioral Science professor Michael L. Radelet, a leading authority on capital punishment. “If the death penalty were a deterrent, this guy would not have done (what he allegedly did) in the top death-penalty jurisdiction in the state.”

Under Colorado state law, a prosecutor must inform the court and the defendant that the state will seek capital punishment within 60 days of arraignment. Under the law, defendants are eligible for the death penalty if found guilty of first-degree murder with at least one aggravating factor, which can include ambushing a victim or using an explosive device.

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Source: BostonHerald.com, July 23, 2012


Colorado theater shooting suspect makes first court appearance

(CNN) -- The man accused of opening fire Friday in a packed movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, made his first court appearance Monday, giving the public its first look at the 24-year-old former doctoral candidate since his arrest.

James E. Holmes, his hair dyed various shades of red, looked downward, then straight ahead. He sat without blinking for long periods. At times, his eyes fluttered, then squeezed tight and reopened in a blank stare. Occasionally, his eyebrows arched, giving his face a mournful mien.

But the man who identified himself to police as "The Joker," dressed in a maroon jumpsuit over a white T-shirt, gave little indication that he was paying attention to the courtroom procedure that ensured he will be continue to be held without bond.

He is to be charged next Monday. Those charges are likely to include first-degree murder -- an offense that carries a possible death penalty, if he is convicted -- in the shooting deaths, given allegations over the weekend by police that there is evidence to suggest "calculation and deliberation" in the rampage.

Holmes is being held in connection with the early Friday shootings that left 12 dead and 58 wounded, and the subsequent discovery of his booby-trapped apartment, which authorities believe he rigged before leaving for the Century Aurora 16 multiplex.

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Source: CNN, July 23, 2012