James Holmes–Part III

Okay.  I thought two short posts about a mental illness defense in the James Holmes case in Colorado would be enough.  But. . .NO!  You may recall Mr. Holmes was the man who armed himself and walked into a theater in Colorado, opened fire, and killed several people.  Originally, his lawyers had said he would plead not guilty

Is James Holmes Crazy in Colorado? Part II

The alleged mass-killer, James Holmes, has indicated that he will proceed in his trial—where he is accused of entering a theater and shooting dozens of people—with a plea of Not Guilty by reason of insanity.  In a previous post, I explored the history of this legal procedure and what would happen in a trial.  Colorado’s definition of …

Is James Holmes Crazy in Colorado? Part I

The young man who entered a theater in Colorado and shot dozens of rounds as he walked through the building,  killed 12 and wounded 58 others.  James Holmes randomly shot at people as they ducked to save themselves.  Of the 41 calls to 911, one of the scariest is the 27-second call where you can hear 30 shots …

Empathy for James Holmes?

In an excellent blog on The Huffington Post,  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-chaltain/empathy-for-a-killer_b_1702350.html?utm_hp_ref=james-holmes  author Sam Chaltain dares to ask:  Is it possible to feel empathy for a person capable of such senseless violence such as James Holmes?

Our usual, knee-jerk reaction is to categorize these kinds of people as psychopaths, aberrant, or crazy (whatever that means).  Mr. Chaltain points out that the …