Gunman involved in Colorado theater shooting from two years ago gets psychiatric examination

[Pendraflare]

So how many of you remember two years ago when The Dark Knight Rises released in theaters, and there was a tragic shooting in Colorado involving a midnight showing where a man killed some of the moviegoers? Well guess what, he's back.

https://news.yahoo.com/lawyers-colorado-theater-gunman-oppose-videotaping-sanity-exam-041026436.html

Lawyers defending James Holmes argued in a motion filed on Friday that they were not notified that the latest sanity exam sessions would be recorded and insisted the taping could violate his constitutional right against self-incrimination.

Holmes, 26, is charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder for opening fire inside a suburban Denver movie theater during a midnight showing of the Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises" in July 2012. The shooting rampage killed 12 people and left dozens of others wounded, and prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty for the Southern California native if he is convicted.

Defense lawyers have conceded that Holmes, who has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, committed the shootings, but they say he suffers from a chronic mental illness and was experiencing a psychotic episode at the time of the massacre.

In Friday's motion, public defenders argued that Holmes was not informed that as a consequence of an insanity plea he could be subjected to a videotaped examination, and there is no provision in Colorado law for the procedure.

So, what we're expected to believe is that this man's massacre was a result of a psychotic episode. The public defenders want to test his actions as testimonial acts. He even underwent a mental evaluation in court last year that hasn't had public result. His second trial had to be postponed for the fact that his testing couldn't be completed before October, when it was initially scheduled.

I put this article up because I found it surprising that a gunman from an event two years ago is being tested for sanity. Considering there have been shootings from gunmen who suffer mental problems before, it's not unnatural whatever might come up with this guy.

What do you think? Could his massacre have been the result of his chronic mental illness which could be cured or was he likely for pure malice? Discuss.

 

[Corvus of the Black Night]

I don't really care personally, but I do know damn well that if he gets diagnosed with anything, that people are going to be saying stupid, ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ blanket comments on that disorder.

It should be noted that 90% of people with mental illnesses don't commit crimes and need help, not stigma, but eh.

 

[Alexander Nicholi]

I'd like to know the specifics of his alleged psychosis before I make any sort of judgment. Technically speaking I myself am psychotic (as is my girlfriend), but because of bipolar; I'm not apt at all to do anything of the sort, so I guess I'm echoing what daigonite said above me – mentally ill people aren't all Jasons or Hannibal Lectors like Mr. Holmes here shows to be.

 

[Silais]

The insanity defense is used in about 1% of all cases, and very few of that 1% are actually accepted. Yet television makes it seem as if the insanity defense is extremely common, and it creates a negative perception of mental illness.

If this man is really insane, then the defense should be used. The likelihood of that happening? Probably slim to nil.

 

[Corrin]

Echoing what the others have said. Very few people with mental illness are criminals, yet the media likes draw so much attention to those who are that the general public is lead to believe that all of us with mental illness are like that.
It's pretty sad, I don't think this guy should be getting all this attention.

 

[Neil Peart]

What gets me is that when these mass shootings happen, all anyone wants to talk about is guns. No one ever wants to talk about mental help services being defunded and becoming more and more inaccessible with time. I do agree, to a point, that this country being as gun-nutty as it is has some blame.

 

[Hackenfall Backslash]

Given the overwhelming number of mentally-ill people in the west (USA, Canada, UK, Australia and maybe even the EU), I'd say it's highly likely. Maybe not most of the ill are violent, but more than you think certainly are. Enough to warrant suspicion. I'm waiting to see what his deal really is, then I'll throw my blanket statements out post-reveal.

It's time the west had a serious talk about mental illness.

 

[Neil Peart]

Some say "Well, then people will start thinking people with any mental disorder will become a murderer!"

No, stupid people will think that.

There is a correlation between mass murderers and a history of mental illness. Correlation isn't causation, BUT, there's also a link between America having more mass shootings than any other developed nation in the world and the lack of funding for mental health care. Either way, what harm is there in taking a look at our mental health care system anyway?

 

[Hackenfall Backslash]

Either way, what harm is there in taking a look at our mental health care system anyway?

Because everyone is a special snowflake, and "if you can't handle me at my worst, you don't deserve me at my best". I have people with a cocktail of issues that tell me I'm worse than they are. "I might have anxiety, BPD, bipolar type whatever, and major depressive disorder, but you're worse than me!" Not only is the west full of looney bins, they're reinforced and encouraged by the narcissistic culture within it. When they're told someone needs to tolerate their nonsense to show they "deserve" them, there is a problem.

Simply put, it's high-time America reformed its healthcare. Not the Obama way, but the real way. How about the healthcare system America needs, rather than the one it deserves?

 

[Neil Peart]

Because everyone is a special snowflake, and "if you can't handle me at my worst, you don't deserve me at my best". I have people with a cocktail of issues that tell me I'm worse than they are. "I might have anxiety, BPD, bipolar type whatever, and major depressive disorder, but you're worse than me!" Not only is the west full of looney bins, they're reinforced and encouraged by the narcissistic culture within it. When they're told someone needs to tolerate their nonsense to show they "deserve" them, there is a problem.

Simply put, it's high-time America reformed its healthcare. Not the Obama way, but the real way. How about the healthcare system America needs, rather than the one it deserves?

Sadly, the Obama way was the best we could do with what the crybaby Republicans were giving us. That entire system had to be reworked and retooled countless times before they would even consider allowing it, and by the time they did, it was essentially Bob Dole's old plan.

 

[Silais]

Because everyone is a special snowflake, and "if you can't handle me at my worst, you don't deserve me at my best". I have people with a cocktail of issues that tell me I'm worse than they are. "I might have anxiety, BPD, bipolar type whatever, and major depressive disorder, but you're worse than me!" Not only is the west full of looney bins, they're reinforced and encouraged by the narcissistic culture within it. When they're told someone needs to tolerate their nonsense to show they "deserve" them, there is a problem.

Simply put, it's high-time America reformed its healthcare. Not the Obama way, but the real way. How about the healthcare system America needs, rather than the one it deserves?

I agree that we've degenerated into this illusion that every person's "unique traits" excuses them from any sort of responsibility. I think we've placed too much emphasis on the "every person is special" idea and not enough on "there are certain aspects of a person's personality and behavior that should be looked into". We've normalized many behaviors that would have been considered psychotic or dangerous in previous eras. I personally can't think of any good ones right now, but you get my point.

On that same point (or close to it) we've made the prospect of mental illness into something we should be extremely ashamed of. We should never talk about it in public. Mental illness has become a buzzword (buzz...phrase?) for something so inherently negative that we should only use it in the most intense cases. And this too creates a negative perception of mental illness. A mentally ill person is now recognized as someone so extreme that they would kill, maim or destroy in their madness. A person with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, once considered mental illnesses, are now considered overly normal. Perhaps they are, but by making it taboo to discuss those disorders as mental illnesses we are making it more and more difficult to treat and diagnose them. We don't like to think they exist, so we push them into the background. It's one explanation as to why our mental health system in the United States stinks so bad. We're prudes.

 

[Mana1]

In cases like this I can't help that feel like mental illness is being used as a get-out card. Maybe this is just my excessive TV experiences here, but it seems much more common that the defense pull forward some kind of evidence towards instability, which then throws the entire case. I don't know if this is an issue with stigma or not, maybe he was suffering with something and just went undiagnosed/helped, but I can't help but feel uneasy with how quickly a claim like this can change a trial. 'Chronic' implies he has had it for a long time, yet this makes out like it was a sudden break? maybe I'm too suspicious of people

Should mentally ill people get help? Certainly. Should mentally ill people be exempt from the law though? ...