Holmes Crimes

Dr. Duwe completed a study that revealed that 61 percent out of the 160 cases reviewed of mass public killers, “had a serious mental health disorder, “or at least had some symptoms indicating that they did have one.” (Kleinfield et al.)

There is so much to consider in these types of cases, because each one is unique and plus mentally ill can definitely be hard to prove in court. When mentally ill people commit crimes as a part of their illness, it has to be proven that the illness caused the perpetrator to lack the understanding that the crime they committed was wrong. In 2012, James Holmes walked into a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado and killed 12 people and injuring 70. He entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. (CNN Wire)

In the 2 Exams Found James Holmes to Be Sane, Prosecutor

Says, “Prosecutors allege that Holmes planned the violence for months, buying a rifle, a shotgun, two pistols . . . and a chemical stockpile that turned his 800-square-foot apartment into a booby trap that might have caused a conflagration.” (Press) On the account of his plans being well- thought-out and executed, this only weakened the insanity claims. The opponent may also imply that if he was not held responsible for the crimes he carried out, there would be an enormous increase of mentally ill claims from other inmates in order to get reduced sentences. Mr.

Brauchler questioned, “Are people getting more mentally ill or are we just coming up with ways to diagnose aberrant behavior and diagnose away evil?” (Nelson et al. 597) There is also a safety concern for Holmes and the non-mentally ill inmate’s. A person with schizophrenia may exhibit strange social behaviors and may not understand what is real. Mentally ill inmates can be dangerous; they have outbursts, speak incoherently, and can become violent at times. Therefore, he can cause injury to other inmates. All of these reasons are valid points and have