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 The second court-ordered exam will focus on James Holmes' state of
mind at the time of the killings, not on his competency to stand
trial, and on whether any mental illness precludes him from facing
the death penalty if convicted.
Holmes, 26, a former graduate student of neuroscience, had been
slated to go on trial this month for the July 2012 massacre of
moviegoers during a midnight screening of the Batman film "The Dark
Knight Rises."
But Arapahoe County District Court Judge Carlos Samour ruled in
November that the trial be postponed indefinitely to deal with
requests by prosecutors for further mental evaluations of the
defendant.
Holmes underwent an extensive psychological examination at a state
mental hospital last year after pleading not guilty by reason of
insanity, meaning that prosecutors have the burden of showing he
knew right from wrong at the time of the shooting.
Defense attorneys have acknowledged in previous court filings that
Holmes committed the shooting frenzy but say he was in the midst of
a "psychotic episode" at the time. They say he has been hospitalized
for mental health issues at least twice since his arrest on the day
of the shooting.
It was disclosed in court in December that the first sanity exam
concluded Holmes was mentally fit, or competent, to stand trial,
meaning he was deemed capable of understanding the proceedings and
assisting in his own defense.
The original exam's finding as to his sanity at the time of the
massacre has not been publicly revealed, but prosecutors are
presumed to have disagreed with those conclusions in asking for a
second review.
Indeed, Samour directed that the new exam re-evaluate the sanity
question when he agreed with prosecutors that the first examination
was "incomplete and inadequate."
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The judge's reasoning in granting the prosecution's request has been
redacted in the court records available to the public.
He ordered the state hospital to select "another psychiatrist or a
forensic psychologist" by next month to conduct the new examination
and to submit a report no later than July 11. A status conference on
the case will be held sometime next week.
While the ruling appeared to be a victory for the state's attorney,
the outcome of the second exam could undermine the prosecution's
case if it reinforces the findings of the first, said Wil Smith, a
longtime Colorado defense lawyer.
He noted that prosecutors lost their bid to hand-pick a new examiner
of their choice.
"If the new evaluation clears up the deficiencies listed and it
comes back with similar conclusions, the prosecution won't have
those objections anymore," Smith said.
Holmes is charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder and
attempted murder for opening fire during the crowded midnight
screening in Aurora, Colorado, in one of the deadliest outbursts of
gun violence by a lone gunman in U.S. history.
Prosecutors have said they intend to seek the death penalty if they
win a conviction.
(Editing by Steve Gorman, Bernard Orr and Mohammad Zargham)
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