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- Title
THE "EVIL" DEFENDANT AND THE "HOLDOUT" JUROR: UNPACKING THE MYTHS OF THE AURORA THEATER SHOOTING CASE AS WE PONDER THE FUTURE OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IN COLORADO.
- Authors
NELSON, KRISTEN; BRADY, TAMARA; KING, DANIEL
- Abstract
On August 7, 2015, after a trial lasting a total of almost seven months, an Arapahoe County jury returned a verdict that spared our client, James Holmes, from the death penalty.1 Mr. Holmes was convicted of killing twelve people and wounding seventy others at a midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises at the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, on July 20, 2012.2 3 His crime was one of the most horrific and tragic acts of mass violence in recent American history.1 Following the jury's life verdict, two troubling narratives have been advanced in the public discourse about the case. The first is that while Mr. Holmes may suffer from some form of mental illness, he is also "evil," and his "evil" nature, rather than his mental illness, drove him to commit these unspeakable acts.4 5 The second is that a lone "holdout" on the jury who refused to budge in his or her opposition to the death penalty thwarted the remainder of the jurors from imposing the death sentence they thought Mr. Holmes deserved.5 In this Article, we examine each of these narratives in turn. In doing so, we first unpack them. We conclude that, while convenient and perhaps even understandable, they are overly simplistic. Indeed, upon further scrutiny, neither of them have a solid factual or legal basis. We then explain why it is not only unhelpful but problematic to continue to legitimize and promote these myths about the case. Finally, in light of our discussion about these false narratives, we consider what lessons about the death penalty Coloradoans should draw from the case as we ponder the future of capital punishment in our state.
- Subjects
COLORADO; HOLMES, James Eagan, 1987-; CAPITAL punishment; AURORA Shootings, Aurora, Colo., 2012; JURORS' attidudes; GOOD &; evil; VERDICTS; LEGAL status of criminal defendants; CAPITAL punishment sentencing lawsuits; ACTIONS &; defenses (Law)
- Publication
Denver Law Review, 2016, Vol 93, Issue 3, p595
- ISSN
2469-6463
- Publication type
Article