August 6th, 2015
There’s a 9-1-1 call that someone in the theater made where you can hear the never-ending gun shots happening in the background. I don’t know what gunshots sound like live, but the ones in the recording sound like they’re coming from a big gun. Holmes brought both an assault rifle and a shotgun into the theater, so it’s probably one of those. The sound of the gunshots plus the sounds of screams is something you’ll never forget, and Brachler ended his closing argument with that recording while the photos of the 12 murder victims slowly disappeared from the screen. If that’s not impactful, I don’t know what is.
Ms. Brady is doing her closing argument now. All the defense attorneys are really good. And you can tell they do care about what they’re doing. Holmes, I don’t know if he realizes it, should be incredibly grateful for such an awesome legal team at no charge to him, even if he’s sentenced to death. I really believe they did everything possible to try to prevent a death sentence, but he literally gave them nothing to work with.
And you can tell that they all take this extremely seriously, and this is quite emotional to them as well. Ms. Higgs seemed on the verge of tears at the end of phase 2. Ms Brady is very emotional now doing her closing arguments. While it could be an act, I seriously doubt it is. I don’t think someone could be a public defender if they were uncaring or not empathetic.
Brady is saying that death is not a punishment for mental illness and that death is not justice for someone with a mental illness. That may be, but the alternative is life in prison without parole. Is life in prison better for someone with a mental illness? Isn’t being locked in a prison for the rest of his life - which could be over 50 years - going to make him worse? The fact that his delusions aren’t gone, won’t life in prison make those delusions worse? Isn’t there a possibility that locking him away in prison might end up making him become violent again? He’ll definitely be medicated the rest of his life, but that medication hasn’t changed his mind about his delusions, it’s only somewhat calmed him in a way as to prevent him from acting out. Is he going to get the proper treatment in prison?
From a logical perspective, regardless of what the verdict is, his case is going to be appealed for decades. He’s going to be locked up for years before any final decision is made, unless he tells his attorneys not to appeal.
As I’m watching this it occurs to me that I’m not sure if the death penalty is something a jury should be made to decide. Brady is really laying the guilt on thick. I’m sure many of the jurors are strong people, but I’m not sure this is a decision they should have to live with the rest of their lives. They did nothing wrong, that seems like a lot of stress for someone who is technically not involved in the legal system. I can’t help but think that the death penalty should be decided by the judge, or a group of judges. Maybe the death penalty should be decided by a group of judges in the area where the crime happened.
3:12pm - closing arguments complete - jury released to deliberate.
You pose a lot of good questions here. Ultimately, it comes down to whether mentally sick people should serve a prison sentence. If they are guilty, then they must be jailed. But there are other ways of doing time, with regards to their condition. They can be put into a mental institution, so at least they can be treated. Putting people behind bars isn't the only way.
ReplyDeleteEliseo Weinstein @ JRs Bail Bond