Lawyers in Colorado theater massacre case argue over grim images

James Holmes and lawyer

Lawyers in the Colorado movie theater massacre case argued on Tuesday over whether jurors should see disturbing crime scene video and hundreds of gruesome photos of the July 2012 rampage.

Attorneys for accused gunman James Holmes said the images could inflame jurors, while prosecutors countered that they are needed to prove the case.

Holmes, 26, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to shooting dead 12 moviegoers and wounding 70 others in a Denver-area cinema during a midnight screening of the Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises."

Prosecutors have charged Holmes with multiple counts of 1st-degree murder and attempted murder, and say they will seek the death penalty for the California native if he is convicted.

At issue was a defense motion that seeks to limit the use of video and photographs of dead and wounded victims.

Public defender Tamara Brady said the sight of too many graphic images "could cause the jury to act on passion, vengeance, hatred, or disgust," rather than weigh the evidence.

Prosecutor Karen Pearson countered that the images provide essential evidence.

"We have 12 people dead and 70 more injured, some catastrophically," Pearson said. "It is not an excessive number of photos .... There are simply so many victims in this case."

The defense also wants to restrict a video recorded inside Holmes' car that shows it has a skull-shaped gear shift.

"It has no relevance and it's possible some jurors could be put off or offended," Brady said.

Shackled and attired in red prison garb, Holmes sat impassively throughout the 90-minute hearing.

The defense also objects to video and photos that show posters hung in Holmes' apartment. The nature of the posters was not disclosed, but Pearson said they show the "normality" of the onetime neuroscience doctoral candidate.

"There are no pictures of Charles Manson on his walls," she said, adding that the posters are the kind typically found in a young graduate student's home.

Arapahoe County District Court Judge Carlos Samour did not immediately rule on the motion, and said he might need to decide some evidentiary issues at trial.

Jury summonses will be sent to 9,000 county residents next month, and jury selection is set to start in January.

Samour has said he wants both sides to present opening statements in early June, although that date could be moved up if jury selection proceeds quicker than he anticipates.

Source: Reuters, November 19, 2014

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