CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) — Prosecutors in the Colorado theater shooting steadily moved Tuesday toward the heart of their case: the testimony of two court-appointed doctors expected to say James Holmes was sane when he opened fire on a packed midnight showing of a Batman movie.
The first month of Holmes’ death penalty trial has been dominated by dramatic and emotional accounts of survivors, technical testimony from investigators, and the recollections of Holmes’ neuroscience professors and classmates, who said he never seemed detached from reality.
But the next two weeks of their case will be more focused on Holmes’ mental health when he committed one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history, District Attorney George Brauchler said.
Jurors will also get to see copies of a spiral notebook that prosecutors say contains Holmes’ detailed plans for the shooting and other ramblings.
The notebook was introduced into evidence on Tuesday but the trial broke for lunch before it could be discussed in detail.
Detective Matthew Fyles testified that the notebook was mailed to Holmes’ psychiatrist, Lynne Fenton, in a white bubble mailer with a total of 16 “Forever” stamps depicting various scientists.
He said the mailer contained twenty $20 bills, some of which were dispersed throughout the notebook. The bills were all burned to some extent.
Authorities also found a sticky note marked with a circle with the numeral one and the infinity sign inside — the same symbol found on a calendar in Holmes’ apartment on the date July 20. 2012, the day of the shooting.
The words “who, what, where, when, why and how” were written on the back of the note, the detective testified.
Brauchler also promised to show jurors days’ worth of interviews with Holmes by psychiatrists William Reid and Jeffrey Metzner. Both doctors determined Holmes suffered mental illness but was sane when he killed 12 people and injured 70 others, Brauchler said.
Holmes’ lawyers disagree, saying his mind was so distorted by schizophrenia that he could no longer tell right from wrong. They plan to call at least two doctors of their own who also interviewed Holmes and found he suffered a serious psychotic illness.
It will be the first glimpse into Holmes’ mental state during the shooting, as a far-reaching gag order has kept those details secret since the July 2012 attack.
Jurors will use the information in deciding whether to find Holmes not guilty by reason of insanity. If they do, he would be sent indefinitely to a state psychiatric hospital. Prosecutors are urging them to find Holmes guilty and sentence him to be executed.
Brauchler told Judge Carlos A. Samour Jr. last week that he expects the second half of prosecutors’ case to be contentious. Defense attorneys have cross-examined few prosecution witnesses — and none of the 51 victims who have testified — but that will change when mental health professionals take the stand.
Jurors could also hear from Fenton, who treated Holmes at the University of Colorado and expressed concerns about him to campus police after he sent her threatening text messages.
Even without their testimony, prosecutors have been trying to show that Holmes was sane. They have called 144 witnesses and shown 2,085 pieces of evidence.
Last week, they presented Holmes’ financial and tax documents from around the time of the shooting, arguing his meticulous record-keeping runs counter to defense claims that Holmes couldn’t tell right from wrong.
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