CENTENNIAL, Colo. — Nine weeks after prosecutors began their case to end the life of James Holmes, five public defenders are attempting to save it.
The Aurora theater shooting trial defense team began its case Thursday, led by public defender Dan King. Largely because the prosecution called so many witnesses in its own proceedings, King has told the court he anticipates his case taking no more than two weeks. But there are still witnesses the jury has never seen.
Neurologist and psychiatrist Dr. Jonathan Woodcock testified for the lion’s share of Thursday’s proceedings. Woodcock, who now works as an assistant professor at the University of Colorado, met with Holmes on July 24, 2012, just days after the defendant attacked the crowded Century 16 movie theater and took 12 lives. Seventy were injured in the attack.
Holmes, who has pled not guilty by reason of insanity, now faces the death penalty from the State of Colorado.
Woodcock’s testimony furthered the defense’s argument that the defendant was insane at the time of his crime. In some ways, his observations from his two-hour meeting with the defendant in jail are consistent with those that other expert witnesses have previously testified about: Holmes was quiet, curt and had a flat affect. But his interpretations of those behaviors is markedly different.
“What I was sure about was that Mr. Holmes was mentally ill,” Woodcock said on the stand. “He had a severe form of psychosis.”
Other psychiatrists who have testified previously have indicated that Holmes struggled with mental illness but was still legally sane at the time of the crime. Woodcock, however, argued that the defendant’s persistent belief that killing others would increase his value was, in fact, a delusion. He also added that Holmes’ long and careful planning of the murders doesn’t negate insanity, claiming that the defendant was simply very good at suppressing his emotions.
Though his role in the evaluation was not to diagnose the defendant, he believes he got enough information to accurately diagnose him with schizoaffective disorder. The psychiatrist likened the disease to schizophrenia and depression combined.
District attorney George Brauchler attempted to discredit the witness by questioning both his credentials and his impartiality. He pored over the 14 pages of notes the psychiatrist took during the evaluation and criticized his methods, including his decision to allow a defense investigator in the room.
Woodcock will be back on the witness stand Friday for more questioning. His testimony Thursday was bookended by two additional witnesses, both Arapahoe County jail employees.
Registered nurse Jason Frank, who testified in the morning, spoke about his interactions with Holmes in the jail, which he said were normal given the circumstances. After his testimony, the court viewed a 6-minute video of the defendant falling backwards off his bunk bed.
Deputy Brent Feenstra closed out the day. He described a time in November 2012 when the defendant had to be moved to another cell because his own cell contained feces. The jail video from that incident was admitted into evidence and will be played on Friday.
Court resumes Friday at 8:40 a.m.
Editor’s note: CU News Corps will honor the victims of this tragedy with every post via this graphic.
