Theater shooting trial day 37: Defense to call first witnesses

Defense attorneys will call their first witnesses Thursday in the trial of James Holmes, who has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to killing 12 and injuring 70 others on July 20, 2012.

3rd & 7 37yd

Woodcock sounds like a lazy psychiatrist in that he does not dig deep into what is really going on with a patient but rather allows the patient to tell him what patient has

by Brandi 6/25/2015 8:09:30 PM
King asking how Woodcock's impression of gunman can coexist with what the RN said earlier? Woodcock suggests the gunman's flat affect

by Phil Tenser 6/25/2015 8:10:04 PM
@Lynn, I care less whetether he spends life in solitary or the DP. Just NEVER let him out again.

by NT8 6/25/2015 8:10:07 PM
I find it odd that King has to literally lead this doctor page by page through his testimony.

by Mara Randall 6/25/2015 8:10:09 PM
Lynn, for me, I began with listening for the legal definition of insanity. And he appears to me that he knew what he was doing would be consider wrong. He hid it, and he planned it with complexity and clarity. Though he may have been mentally ill, he knew. He knew it was wrong.

by Tammy Garrison 6/25/2015 8:10:36 PM
@Lynn - I don't care if he's put to death or not, but I do not believe he is mentally ill to the point of needing hospitalization. I believe he was sane at the time, and that he is fully capable of choosing to do right over wrong. Therefore, I don't believe he needs hospitalization. He needs to be either imprisoned for life or, if the jury deems it appropriate, put to death.

by jward12 6/25/2015 8:10:53 PM
@ Lynn... ADHD is a mental illness. Should mass murders who have it be exempt from the death penalty. There is a huge difference between being mentally ill and being insane. Mentally ill people should be held accountable for the actions like everyone else.

by SMH 6/25/2015 8:10:54 PM
- Objection
Objection overruled

by Phil Tenser 6/25/2015 8:11:18 PM
@Lynn - I absolutely think it is possible that he is legally insane. May be an unpopular opinion but I am trying to be open.

by Annie 6/25/2015 8:11:21 PM
- Quote
"You have to be able to interact with the person to find some information about what is going on inside if it is not superficially apparent -- and in this case it was not superficially apparent"

by Phil Tenser 6/25/2015 8:11:53 PM
@TG he even stated to Reid that he knew it was wrong, Paranoid at the range of what he thought were FBI vehicles.

by NT8 6/25/2015 8:12:25 PM
@oxk, I truly believe JH was completely aware of right from wrong. That he premeditated his crimes, that his intentions were only to kill mass amounts of people to get his ex-girlfriend to remember him. To me, he is none other than an anti social people hater. What his penalty becomes is with the jury. I have no preference.

by Resa 6/25/2015 8:12:27 PM
So is King now saying the nurse he brought in to testify wasn't a good witness?

by TLR 6/25/2015 8:13:38 PM
Woodcock says gunman told him he saw shadows, but nothing fully formed. Previous doctor testified gunman told him about seeing disembodied saws

by Phil Tenser 6/25/2015 8:14:32 PM
Goodness...I think I just heard Woodcock say something like (highly paraphrased): If someone had spoken with Holmes before the shooting,but knowing what I know about him now, they would have concluded he was mentally ill..... Am I having delusions?

by flip 6/25/2015 8:14:35 PM
Sadly, for so many commentators, the trial seems to be unjustified, except when it reflects their pre-formed opinions. This shows a resistant and stalled intellect on the part of the people (at least, on this blog). @Lynn, there are many forms of mental illness----insanity is mental illness taken into a psychotic reality.

by oxk 6/25/2015 8:14:37 PM
Woodcock defines delusions as a "fixed false belief"

by Phil Tenser 6/25/2015 8:14:52 PM
It's interesting to watch the comments of non lawyers who have not been present at pretrial hearing makes judgments about certain lines of questioning and witness orders.

by CPK 6/25/2015 8:15:10 PM
Again, JH isn't swiveling because this testimony is "helping" him in his strategic move towards NGRI. JH did the same thing in opening statements. He wasn't swiveling; intently listening when it was Kings turn.

by Kristle 6/25/2015 8:15:11 PM
"Delusions are one of the hallmarks of what we call psychosis"

by Phil Tenser 6/25/2015 8:15:59 PM
@Lynn...i have been looking forward to the defense expert testimony for him/her to convince me of his insanity. so far..not convinced. and no, i am not in favor of the death penalty for mentally ill people..but i think JH is devoid of empathy despite or inspite of his other mental illness issues and should be kept under lock and key for a very very long time.

by debitwo 6/25/2015 8:16:11 PM
I have to agree with you too, Resa, about trying to impress the ex-girlfriend. And I have only 2 things to say about the death penalty. 1. The degree of death and mayhem warrants it and, 2 the survivors and families's desires should be taken into consideration.

by Tammy Garrison 6/25/2015 8:16:11 PM
- Quote
"Does Mr. Holmes have a mild form of a mental illness or not?" "No, neither his delusions nor the degree of his mental illness are mild"

by Phil Tenser 6/25/2015 8:16:50 PM
@oxk what and who are you talking about...

by LG 6/25/2015 8:17:59 PM
Even Reid had said that he was sure he JH was severely mentally ill and not malingering so how would he be ale to fake and influence a trained psychiatrist?

by Unique_1985 6/25/2015 8:18:00 PM
@oxk, so what are your quals to know anymore that than the rest of the commentors?

by NT8 6/25/2015 8:18:01 PM
@Kristie--I noticed the same thing. JH hanging on every word that helps him.

by flip 6/25/2015 8:18:02 PM
@Kristle- I noticed that this morning also!

by Brandi 6/25/2015 8:18:03 PM
And what is the swiveling vs. not swiveling supposed to say about him?..

by Annie 6/25/2015 8:19:45 PM
Most of you have said JH is mentally ill but he knew what he was doing was wrong. Is putting him into prison with inmates that aren't mentally ill the right thing to do? Would that be safe for the inmates and correctional officers where he would be placed? Again, I'm NOT defending, just asking opinions.

by Lynn 6/25/2015 8:19:46 PM
I missed it...what was the delusion woodcock says JH had??

by debitwo 6/25/2015 8:19:47 PM
@oxk - You are judging others for having preformed opinions but you seem to be very set in yours. Not everyone on here thinks JH should go straight to death row. Most of us have open minds but have not seen any evidence to believe NGRI is appropriate for JH. Personally I think spending the rest of his life in the general population is the best punishment for someone who hates to be around other people.

by SMH 6/25/2015 8:19:51 PM
Maybe JH hangs on the words of those defending him aka his allies instead of "every word that helps him"

by CPK 6/25/2015 8:19:52 PM
I'm disappointed that there has not been a medical doctor (not a psych spec) who says that medical conditions can have the same symptoms and tell us that those conditions have been ruled out.

by Lori Butterfield 6/25/2015 8:19:53 PM
This testimony started out pretty damning to the DT and right before lunch it's picking up steam IMO to confirm JH's NGRI. Dr. Woodcock was there right after the shooting.

by Kristle 6/25/2015 8:19:54 PM
Tammy

by Tammy 6/25/2015 8:19:55 PM
@Phil, your judgment please? This forum is getting out of hand again...

by Clancy 6/25/2015 8:19:55 PM
@Clancy: I'm trying to pay attention to the trial and not the petty squabbles over what individuals think. As long as everyone is respectful, you're welcome to opinions. If anyone is not respectful, I'll block their comments

by Phil Tenser 6/25/2015 8:20:34 PM
@Annie I was wondering the same thing....=/

by Lynn 6/25/2015 8:20:54 PM
Schizoaffective disorder has some symptoms in common with schizophrenia, but has more "affective symptoms" that have to do with mood, Woodcock explains

by Phil Tenser 6/25/2015 8:21:25 PM
JH is a coward. He's self preserving his life while he guns down innocent people so IMO he sees this trial as a strategic game to again protect his own hide by going to a mental institution instead of death row.

by Kristle 6/25/2015 8:22:32 PM
Woodcock says he joined university just a few months after that interview with the gunman

by Phil Tenser 6/25/2015 8:22:48 PM
Lynn, I understood that if imprisoned, rather than death penalty, he would be by himself rather in general population, which he has expressed in some ways, is one of the outcomes he wanted: to be away from people and have a bed and food.

by Tammy Garrison 6/25/2015 8:22:52 PM
@Resa, I am curious. Looking at the human world, don't you think many people act out their "killer" crimes on other life--animals, plants, waters, etc? What and why would make him different from other life. Why do you think he took the risk of killing people? What part of his emotional and intellectual life became so defective.

by oxk 6/25/2015 8:22:56 PM
@Lynn - I suspect that general population of most prisons has a pretty high number of mentally ill people. Not necessarily psychotic ones, definitely lots of mental illness.

by SMH 6/25/2015 8:22:58 PM