James Holmes is an infamous American mass murderer who is responsible for the death of 12 people and injuring another 70 people. The gruesome incident which led to the death of 12 people and injured 70 people took place on July 20, 2012, inside a Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, United States.
The event was reported to be the deadliest shooting in the history of Colorado since the Columbine HighSchool massacre, which resulted in the death of 12 students and 1 teacher. James Holmes opens fire during a midnight screening of the movie ‘The Dark Knight Rises’. James Holmes was shortly arrested after the attack by the police and he was jailed without permitting bail while he waited for the trial. The case made headlines all over the country.
James Holmes’s Life Behind Bars
While he was put behind bars, James Holmes attempted to commit suicide multiple times. James Holmes submitted a plea of not guilty because of insanity, also known as the mental disorder defense. A plea grants an excuse to the accused, stating that the person who has committed the crime is not responsible for their action as they were under a psychiatric disease at the time of the act. James Holmes plea was accepted by the jury.
The jury spared James Holmes the death penalty by a single vote but James Holmes was sentenced to 12 consecutive life sentences and also an additional 3,318 years without parole. Upon passing the sentence, the jury stated “it is the intention of this court that the defendant never set foot in the free society again”.
According to the police report, James Holmes entered the movie theatre just like the normal audience. He took a ticket for the show and got seated in the front row. About twenty minutes into the show, James Holmes left the movie hall through the exit door to take his guns from his car parked outside. After getting hold of his weapons, James Holmes re-entered the hall through the same door he left.
He was wearing gas masks and other bulletproof protective gear. People were completely confused by his appearance. Some thought that he was just like the rest of the audience who had also dressed up for the premiere while some others thought that it was some kind of a prank. He threw a canister toward the audience which emitted smoke that affected the audience’s vision, causing itchiness and irritation to their eyes. It was then he opened a round of fire toward the audience.
The police arrived on the scene as quickly as possible after receiving the first 911 emergency call at 12:39 am. James Holmes was spotted near his vehicle behind the cinema. Police reported that he remained calm and disconnected during his arrest. There was a statement from the officers that he had dyed his hair a bright orange color and that he called himself ‘The Joker’ during the time of his arrest. This statement was not confirmed by the police later. Later, the Colorado State Attorney blamed the officers for the rumor of James Holmes calling himself ‘The Joker’.
James Holmes was sent to Colorado State Penitentiary, which is the highest security prison in the state. James Holmes is considered an at-risk prisoner, which means that is under the threat of attack from his inmates. There is a record of one such attack that took place during his time in prison. An inmate who managed to pass through a security door attacked James Holmes, not much into his time in jail. Due to such a threat, James Holmes was then transferred to an undisclosed new location.
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This decision from the police made the survivors and their families furious. They demanded that they had the right to know exactly where James Holmes was kept. It was only revealed months later that the reason for the transfer behind the transfer of James Holmes was the attack from his prison mate. There is little to no information about the daily life of James Holmes in prison.
James Holmes was born in California on December 13, 1987. James Holmes was said to be a person who was mentally disturbed from a very young age. James Holmes had issues with mental health from middle school and he even tried to commit suicide while he was only eleven years old, says his lawyer Daniel King. James Holmes was a troubled person. He was reported to have thoughts about killing other people by one of his girlfriends who later broke up with him. He was also found texting a graduate student about dysphoric mania and asking the student to stay away from him. Officials conclude that the reasons behind James Holmes odd behavior have its root in his childhood.
During his young days, James Holmes was scared of what he described as the ‘Nail Ghost’. James Holmes was depressed and obsessed with killing for more than a decade. With more than 3000 years behind the bars for his actions, James Holmes is destined to live the remaining days of his life in prison and never to set foot in the free world again.