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James Holmes, left, and defense attorney Tamara Brady appear in district court in Centennial, Colo., for his arraignment March 12, 2013.(Photo: RJ Sangosti, AP)
CENTENNIAL, Colo. — The Aurora theater shooting defendant figured he'd be killed or captured after spending months preparing to enter a suburban Denver movie theater to kill people, a court-appointed psychiatrist testified Monday.
James Holmes gave himself a 1% chance of getting away, Dr. William Reid said from the witness stand. Reid is testifying and explaining to jurors 22 hours of video recorded interviews he conducted with Holmes last summer.
The recordings show Holmes rarely showing any emotion as he discusses his preparations for the shooting and the deaths he acknowledges causing. Holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, and his attorneys say he suffers from schizophrenia. Reid concluded that Holmes is mentally ill but understands the difference between right and wrong, and he knew what he was doing.
USA TODAY
Psychiatrist: Holmes 'knew what he was doing was wrong'
"The mission was to go over to the theater and shoot as many people as possible," Holmes said in one interview with Reid. "The alternative was suicide … doing the homicide got me out of the depression. It gave me a purpose."
Holmes told Reid that the 12 deaths he caused raised his personal value, saying he believed he gets an economic value of anything his victims would have accomplished in life.
"Human life has value. If you take lives away, that adds to your value," Holmes said. "Anything they would have pursued gets canceled out and given to me."
Holmes told Reid that while he experienced some remorse for killing a child, because he views children as "morally different," he probably would have still done the same thing again. At one point during his interview, Holmes acknowledged what he did was illegal, and at another refers to "the crime." He also said he wished someone had stopped him after he expressed "homicidal thoughts."
USA TODAY
Accused Aurora shooter says he had a 'broken mind'
Reid told jurors that Holmes seemed well aware that what he was doing was wrong, and that his actions would have consequences. "It still says to me that even within some delusion he would feel better, that's not an equitable trade," Reid said. "He was still aware he was trading people's lives and injuries in order to feel better."
The trial is in its 22nd day of what is expected to be a four-month-long process. Prosecutors are a little more than halfway through their presentation.
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Speaking for the first time in court, the state-appointed psychiatrist for James Holmes says the Aurora theater shooting suspect has a mental illness but can tell right from wrong. Jurors also saw recordings of part of their interview sessions. VPC
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