The maniac accused of slaughtering 12 moviegoers will likely try to dodge the death penalty with a desperation insanity defense — but legal experts say he has little chance of avoiding the needle.
Prosecutors are sitting on a mountain of evidence that could put James Holmes on death row, including aggravating factors like his obvious premeditation and the fact that he targeted multiple victims and children.
“To get to the death penalty, you have to have at least one aggravating factor,” said Craig Silverman, former prosecutor in the Denver District Attorney’s Office who is now in private practice.
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“You’ve got at least 12 counts of coldblooded, super-premeditated first-degree murder.”
It would be difficult for a defense attorney to argue that Holmes didn’t pre-plan the massacre.
The 24-year-old bought four guns and over 6,000 rounds of ammunition in the last two months and dressed in bulletproof gear beforehand, authorities said.
He spent three weeks rigging his apartment with explosives, sources said.
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Other aggravating factors like multiple victims or attacking children would only require proving he was the gunman who killed a dozen people and wounded a 4-month-old infant.
Colorado legal experts say it’s a certainty he will try pleading insanity.
“The only real defense would be the insanity defense,” said former federal prosecutor Rick Kornfeld, who defended the parents of Columbine killer Dylan Klebold. “The first order of business for his defense lawyer is to get a grasp of Holmes’ mental status.”
To mount a successful insanity defense, the attorney representing Holmes must show that he could not tell the difference between right and wrong and that he does not understand the charges against him.
“He would have to prove that he lacked the capacity to distinguish right from wrong,” Silverman said. “Insanity would apply if this guy really thought he was a character in a movie.”
Holmes will likely be represented by public defenders, experts said.
“I would expect a public defender to jump in,” Silverman said. “This is not Texas. These lawyers are good and well-compensated.”
Arapahoe County District Attorney Carol Chambers would not be reluctant to pursue capital punishment.
“Arapahoe County pursues about 80 percent of the death-penalty cases in Colorado,” said Kornfeld.
“The DA in Arapahoe County is madly in love with the death penalty,” added Denver lawyer David Lane.
The state has executed only one person since 1967 — rapist and murderer Gary Lee Davis in 1997.