Posted on 12/19/2014 11:08:18 AM PST by Slings and Arrows
Colorado movie theater gunman James Holmes is “not a monster” and should be spared a death sentence, his parents plead in their first public comments since one of the worst mass shootings in American history.
Robert and Arlene Holmes’ two-page letter to the Denver Post editorial section was delivered by Lisa Damiani, one of the gunman’s court-appointed attorneys. The newspaper published the entire letter on Friday.
The parents are breaking their silence as 9,000 summonses are being mailed to prospective jurors. Jury selection is scheduled for January with a trial to begin in late spring or early summer.
Holmes, who turned 27 in jail last week, is charged with murdering a dozen people and attempting to murder 70 others inside an Aurora movie theater in July 2012. The former medical student is accused of stockpiling weapons and meticulously planning his rampage for months. Prosecutors – who are seeking the death penalty – allege Holmes also wanted to kill police by leaving his Denver apartment booby trapped with explosives.
Holmes pled not guilty by reason of insanity and has undergone two court-ordered sanity exams, which have not been made public.
“We believe that the death penalty is morally wrong, especially when the condemned is mentally ill,” his parents write in the letter. “He is a human being gripped by severe mental illness. We realize treatment in an institution would be best for our son. We love our son, we have always loved him, and we do not want him to be executed.”
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Based on the above, the answer is "NO", Mom and Dad.
He’s not a monster is he????????????? Then what the hell is he?
Mom and dad I’ve got some news for you......YOU CREATED THIS MONSTER who lived in the fake world of RAMBO computer games rather than to live a normal life like others.
Go tell the parents of all who were butchered by him that he is really a nice boy but simply made a little mistake in taking his altered ego RAMBO to school that day.
Mom and Dad, you failed your son and you failed society.
He is the poster boy for monster
I beg to differ with the parents: He is precisely the type deserving of the death penalty. Planned Parenthood could use him as the poster boy in support of their abortion agenda.
“The former medical student...”
He wasn’t a Medical student as far as I recall. He was a Ph.D. student.
And, I don’t think they should have denied he is a monster. that weakens their argument in my opinion. He was a monster.
“We realize treatment in an institution would be best for our son.”
But what’s best for their son is not the issue.
What is best for society is.
Some people seem to think that “mental illness” is a disease, like the flu is a disease.
It’s not.
Just more of the attempt to do away with personal responsibility.
James Holmes murdered 12 people on July 20, 2012. This scum should have been tried, convicted, sentenced, and turned into maggot food many, many months ago.
What has the Colorado justice system been smoking?!?
he wasn’t a monster. Those are creatures made up for movies. he was a murderer. thus he should be punished like murderers. Firing squad works for me.
But, they are going to have to prove mentally ill to the level of a retard to get me to exculpate him from facing the consequences of his actions. And that much, for this clown, I don't think they're going to be able to make. A retard doesn't plan, a retard doesn't execute that plan. A culpability low functioning retard just does on the spur of the moment, with what is at hand.
I don't see them making that believable. And, I'm sure that once the threat of capital punishment (or any punishment) is gone he will miraculously become symptom free.
I used to believe as you do.
However over the years and with my work with MI and MR I have come to the conclusion that there are plenty of MI and MR who do not kill. The MR and MI who do kill are dangerous and need to be executed, for they will kill again.
If judged insane, he would be given treatment. If given treatment, after some time had elapsed, Holmes would be tested for any ‘improvement’. If he fools the right doctor, he may be released back into the community. For this reason, I support Capitol Punishment.
That’s precisely why he should be executed! Crazy=pity. Crazy and homicidal=execution. There is no place in civilization for monsters.
He was mentally ill? As in, he didn’t know what was happening? Fine. Use an electric chair to kill this cretin and when they strap him in, tell him it’s a carnival ride. He won’t know what’s happening.
I don’t fault a mother and father for pleading for their son’s life. But mental illness is not the same as knowing if what you are doing is wrong. If he is on trial, that ship has already sailed.
Dear monster’s parents: no. You raised a murderer through your inadequate parenting.
“Firing squad works for me.”
I’m thinking belt sander. Or deli slicer.
No, in my opinion he was not insane. It was a case of premeditated murder, i.e. a thought out or a planned action, in this case a crime, beforehand.
He intended to cause mayhem and harm innocent people by (1) obtaining a loaded weapon and spare ammunition, (2) concealing his identity dressed as the Joker (3) entering the theatre through a back exit with a weapon, (4) killing random persons in the theatre with the weapon, and (5) attempting to escape undetected through a back exit. I may be wrong but it sounds like he had a plan to me.
Hanging his a$$ will rid society of this menace and discourage others from copying his actions. You may have another opinion. Let’s hope the jury is fair to both sides and justice prevails.
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