James Holmes Case Study from Viewpoint of a Trial Consultant

Steven Williams                                                                         PSY 335

On July 20th 2012 in Aurora Colorado, eager movie-goers packed the movie theatre to see the newest release, Batman: the dark night rises.  During the movie, James Eagan Holmes pretended to take a phone call and exited the movie theatre; upon his return Holmes came in armed with a military-style AR-15 assault rifle and began open firing into the crowd killing 12 people and injuring 70. His victims ranged in age from six years old to 51 years old. When police officers responded to the scene, they found Holmes wearing a gas mask, body armor and his hair dyed orange like the popular adversary to batman, the joker. Upon his arrest he informed authorities that his apartment was rigged with explosives so that anyone who entered his room would be killed. The authorities were thankfully able to defuse and remove the bomb to keep everyone in the apartment out of harm’s way.  A gruesome attack such as this could not have just been a crime of passion; Holmes planned this massacre four months in advance purchasing and receiving numerous packages which is believed to be how Holmes got the ammo and the magazines for the attack. He also purchased multiple weapons from multiple different gun stores in Colorado.  In the end James Holmes was convicted and charged with 24 counts of first degree murder, 140 counts of attempted murder and one count of possession or control of an explosive or incendiary device. The lawyer who took James Holmes’s case was named Dan King and for this particular case I will be working as the trial consultant for Dan King and Mr. Holmes because I believe that James Holmes is a murderer and a sick man, but I believe he is a sick man that needs help; not to be locked away in a jail cell for the rest of his life.

As the consultant on this case the first thing I would have done is cut James’s hair.  As I said before James Holmes dyed his hair orange to match the hair color of the joker; people will see and make the connection between the two and will already have a preset notion in their head that he is a villain and an evil person. If I wanted the jury to see him as just a regular person who needs help the orange hair will only set us back. While Holmes was in jail he attempted suicide by running head first into a wall multiple times. I would’ve urged the defense to speak about the suicide attempt to try and get a better understanding of where he was mentally after being put in jail and see if that can’t open up a new understanding to his motive behind the murders.  Next as a trial consultant I would’ve dressed him up to the best of my ability. I would’ve purchased a three piece suit, make sure his hair is trimmed and neat and try to make him as aesthetically presentable as humanly possible. Also I would’ve urged the defense to not only use the insanity plea, but I would’ve urged them to look into his background and try to sway the jury using his history.  James Holmes was born on December13, 1987 in San Diego, California. His mother was a registered nurse and his father was a mathematician and a scientist with degrees from Stanford University. Growing up Holmes was somewhat of a child prodigy himself, in fifth grade him and a friend passed time writing code and building a website for the school after they finished their assignments. In middle school, people started noticing Holmes removing himself from people and becoming more secluded. He graduated high school and interned at the Salk institute of biological studies. In 2008 he worked as a camp counselor for underprivileged youth in Los Angeles. After the internship Holmes went on to the University of California where he studied neuroscience and earned his bachelor’s degree in 2010. After graduation, Holmes decided to continue his studies at the University of Colorado in 2011 taking graduate classes on neuroscience. While Holmes proved to be an exceptionally smart individual his family had an extensive history of mental illnesses. Both of his grandfathers were hospitalized for mental illness. Holmes’ aunt, the fraternal twin of his father, was diagnosed 30 years ago with schizoaffective disorder; the same diagnosis that has been applied to Holmes. His aunt has delusions, is completely disabled by the illness, has been hospitalized several times, and is on the same antipsychotic medications as Holmes. He has had a mental disease for at least 10 years, perhaps as early as the sixth grade. I would’ve brought in family, friends and anyone else who can attest to his mental illness and the family’s mental history to get a better understanding of who he was and what drove him to shoot up the theatre. Also I would’ve tried to talk about his education to show the jury that he is a smart individual. If the defense could’ve shown that Holmes is not just some psychotic killer; that he was actually a smart kid that just had a lot of untreated mental issues, then maybe there’s a chance the jury would have been a little more lenient with him. Finally I would’ve urged the defense attorney for Mr. Holmes to play on his compassion and remorse. After the shooting James said that he did not want to kill any children, even though there was a six year old caught in the crossfire of the shooting. He even went on record speaking with a psychologist and said that killing children was wrong. It was very clear that, if nothing else, James felt extremely remorseful for the death of that little girl that was killed and that could’ve been used in his favor to show that he wasn’t aware of what he was doing at the time of the shooting.