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U.S. NEWSFriday 29 May 2015
Colorado prosecutors build case that Holmes was sane
DAN ELLIOTT In this June 4, 2013 photo Aurora theater shooting suspect James legally sane. about) 3 mins.,” Holmes
Associated Press Holmes appears in court in Centennial, Colo. Prosecutors in the In the coming days, prose- wrote.
CENTENNIAL, Colorado Colorado theater shooting trial say they are moving closer to- cutors also plan to show 22 Coupled with other pros-
(AP) — Prosecutors are me- ward the heart of their case: whether Holmes was legally insane hours of videotaped inter- ecution evidence about
thodically building a case when he committed one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. his- views that Reid conducted Holmes’ behavior, the
that James Holmes knew tory. with Holmes. They will peri- notebook is a serious blow
right from wrong when he odically stop the video to to the defense, said Steven
planned and carried out (Andy Cross/The Denver Post via AP) question Reid about the Pitt, a forensic psychiatrist
the deadly Colorado cin- conversations. who has worked on sanity
ema shootings, hoping to you visit me in prison?” testify Thursday. Prosecu- Under Colorado law, cases but isn’t involved in
convince jurors he should A state-appointed psychia- tor George Brauchler has the burden of proof is the Holmes trial.
be convicted and execut- trist who examined Holmes, already told jurors the doc- Brauchler’s team to con- The defense has said Holm-
ed and not sent to a men- William Reid, is expected to tor concluded Holmes was vince the jury that Holmes es suffers from schizophre-
tal hospital. was sane. On Tuesday, they nia and the disease had
Holmes pleaded not guilty showed jurors a notebook so distorted his mind that
by reason of insanity in the Holmes kept, with scribbled he did not know right from
July 20, 2012, attack on a maps and cramped hand- wrong — Colorado’s stan-
suburban Denver movie writing that sketched out a dard for an insanity verdict.
theater, which killed 12 chilling list of choices: mass But the notebook “speaks
people, wounded 58 and murder or serial murder, to his appreciation of
injured 12. attack a theater or an air- wrongfulness,” Pitt said.
After a month of testimony port, use guns, bombs or Mental illness alone is not
from victims and investiga- biological warfare. enough to satisfy an insan-
tors, prosecutors this week It details which auditoriums ity verdict in Colorado, he
shifted to Holmes’ mental in the theater complex had noted.
state. They showed jurors the fewest exits and offered Pitt said the notebook does
notes that Holmes made the least chance he would provide the defense with
on how long it would take be detected. One map strong evidence Holmes
police to respond to an at- shows the theater complex was mentally ill, which they
tack on the theater as well and a nearby police sta- could use to argue against
as a dating website profile tion and National Guard the death penalty if he is
on which he asked, “Will building. “ETA response (is convicted.q
Miami:
Kenyan pleads guilty in
terrorism support case
CURT ANDERSON chat rooms frequented by
AP Legal Affairs Writer Muslim extremists, accord-
MIAMI (AP) — A Kenyan ing to court documents.
man pleaded guilty in FBI undercover employees
the U.S. on Thursday to ter- posed as online terrorism
rorism support charges in a recruiters and fundraisers in
case that involved Internet communications with both
chat room and other on- Mohammed and Said, who
line communications with were both overseas.
undercover FBI operatives. Said admitted in the fac-
Mohamed Said pleaded tual statement that in 2011
guilty to one count of con- he received more than
spiracy to provide material $11,600 in wire transfers
support to foreign terrorist from Mohammed for al-
organizations. Shabaab and that he had
A factual statement signed told Mohammed later, “I
by Said identifies those sent it and it was distributed
groups as al-Shabaab in among the mujahedeen.”
Africa and extremist orga- “I am sending more this
nizations operating in Syria, week (Allah willing),” Mo-
including al-Qaida. hammed wrote back.
Said, 27, faces a maximum Said’s defense had cen-
15-year prison term when tered on claims that pros-
he is sentenced Aug. 14 ecutors could not prove he
by U.S. District Judge Ursula was the person typing on
Ungaro. a computer in Africa when
A co-defendant, Gufran the incriminating commu-
Mohammed, is already nications were sent. But ac-
serving that same 15-year cording to authorities, Said
sentence after pleading admitted his involvement
guilty last year. in terrorism in conversations
The case evolved from with inmates at a Miami
FBI monitoring of Internet detention center.q
