Colorado
theater gunman's lawyers challenge firearms analysis
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[July 24, 2014]
By Keith Coffman
DENVER (Reuters) - Lawyers defending
accused theater gunman James Holmes challenged the reliability of
firearms analysis on Wednesday, despite conceding that their client was
solely responsible for the 2012 massacre that killed 12 moviegoers.
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In a hearing before Arapahoe County District Court Judge Carlos
Samour, public defenders sought to have expert ballistics testimony
precluded from the onetime neuroscience graduate student's murder
trial.
Dale Higashi, an agent with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation,
said all the bullet fragments and shell casings that he analyzed
from the crime scene could be traced to three of the weapons
belonging to Holmes.
Defense lawyers argued that firearms analysis is subjective, and not
based on quantifiable scientific fact.
Holmes, 26, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to opening
fire inside a suburban Denver cinema in July 2012 during a midnight
screening of the Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises."
The rampage killed 12 moviegoers and wounded 70 others.
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Prosecutors have charged Holmes with multiple counts of first-degree
murder and attempted murder, and said they will seek the death
penalty if he is convicted.
After invoking the insanity defense, Holmes underwent a
court-ordered sanity examination last year, but the conclusions have
not been made public.
His lawyers have said that Holmes was experiencing a psychotic
episode when he went on the shooting spree.
In February, Samour ordered a second sanity evaluation after siding
with prosecutors who argued that the initial examination was
deficient.
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Shackled and clad in red prison garb, Holmes sat impassively
throughout the hearing, and did not appear to acknowledge his
parents who were in the courtroom.
Former Denver prosecutor and legal analyst Craig Silverman said
Holmes' lawyers are contesting all the evidence amassed against
their client in a bid to spare him from execution.
"This is another sideshow designed to create an appellate issue,"
Silverman said.
Samour gave no indication on Wednesday on when he will rule on the
defense motions.
Jury selection is set to begin on begin on Dec. 8.
(Reporting by Keith Coffman; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Eric
Walsh)
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