by Scott Creighton
Aside from the relevant details and all the conflicting facts that have been uncovered about this case, the Aurora Massacre, why is it that it just seems too… well… to “perfect” (not to mince words) to be something born of a diseased and drug addled mind of a 24 year old kid with no particular political leaning?
Why this place? Why this kid? Was he really capable of this horror? Do the answers to questions like these need to be found or is it all just too “plausible” that Holmes got lit-up on drugs and pulled off the mass murder of the century on pure instinct alone?
What is at stake? Why this film? When so many details of the case are suspicious, an active and diligent citizenry is required to look at them carefully and dispassionately for the sake of yesterday’s victims (finding them real justice) and for tomorrow’s.
What is at stake?
We all know that billionaire Mayor for life Bloomberg was practically standing on the bodies of the fallen and the wounded with a bullhorn calling for stricter laws governing weapons in America.
And we have seen people like John McCain demand the presidential candidates take a stand on the issue in the wake of the shooting.
Now Obama has put out a statement that we all know that Ak-47s belong in the hands of warriors and not “the criminals”. Seems he forgot another classification of persons there… law abiding citizens.
The second amendment, regardless of what various actors may Tweet, is not there to provide you and yours with the joys of hunting or target shooting. The second amendment is included in the Bill of Rights as a guard against tyrannical government.
Obama’s recent carefully scripted statement on gun control clouds that issue and makes it seem he supports the spirit of the amendment while simultaneously dismissing the purpose of it.
“I, like most Americans, believe that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual the right to bear arms. I think we recognize the traditions of gun ownership passed on from generation to generation, that hunting and shooting are part of a cherished national heritage.” The Hill, Obama statement on gun control
Our cherished national heritage also includes throwing off the shackles of a repressive government, Mr. Obama, need I remind you. And that sir, is the purpose of our second amendment.
But why would oligarchs wish to disarm the people? Why would they want to make it harder to purchase such weapons? Well, the answer to that question lies in the fact that in every single country where neoliberal shock therapy of the Chicago School economic theory is imposed, it is accompanied by strict authoritarian regimes who are needed to repress the will of the vast majority of the people. From Iran ’53 to Chile in ’73, from Iraq in 2003 to Libya today, these programs are designed to repress dissent and suppress opposition uprisings.
Therefore is it reasonable to suggest that the oligarchs and complicit politicos would support the control of the kinds of weapons needed to resist tyranny? Of course it is. And we see that happening in stages as we speak.
Why this kid?
James Holmes has not been described by anyone as a “criminal” (as Barack Obama makes reference to in his new statement) prior to July 20th 2012.
In fact he was apparently a model citizen someone who would never be denied a firearm under the current guidelines.
That’s important if you wish to manufacture consent for changing the guidelines because had he been some random killer or criminal, then we would be asking how he got past the existing laws rather than looking to refine them.
But instead what they are looking at it keeping guns from “the wrong people” and military grade weapons from all of them. Who makes the determination as to who the right and wrong people are? What is the criteria? Who sets it?
Would blogs like this prevent me from owning a weapon? Would previous military service or affiliation with “fringe” ideological groups?
To say to impose such a arbitrary selection process would certainly be to travel down that proverbial “slippery slope” but gauging purely from the recent rhetoric coming from the anointed one, we seem to be well on our way.
That is why this clean-cut well heeled citizen was a prime choice were this to have been a psyop with a well thought out and carefully crafted design behind it.
Was he really capable of this horror?
It is my contention, as I have stated before, that an event like this requires a very specific kind of human being. One that will not freeze, one that will not empathize, one that will not hesitate or second guess or die.
There is a great deal of hard evidence that there was another person involved and it has been my conclusion after researching this event that someone other than James Holmes committed this atrocity while Holmes was drugged in the car waiting to be discovered.
But what kind of person would that be and do various factions within our government or our military work with people like this daily? The answer of course is yes.
Destabilization campaigns are run by technocrats usually, technocrats aided by jackals. The jackals train and equip various indigenous personnel who run operations like the one in Aurora in various countries all across the world. Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Libya, the list goes on and on. We know this to be true. History is replete with the declassified files stretching across the entire globe.
The jackals and their assets (indigenous mercenaries) are calculating, experienced, cold-blooded killers working to one end and one end alone; the greater good, whatever that case may be.
This event has the markings of their work. It was well planned, quick, and the perfect patsy was primed and ready.
Did Holmes have the experience with those firearms to do what he did? Is a 12 out of 71 a high kill ratio? He didn’t panic, he didn’t freeze. If his gun jammed he simply switched to another. He tossed the distraction grenades and waited for them to ignite. No one got close enough to him to stop him. He didn’t rush out the front chasing victims down. He didn’t lose himself in the chaos. By all early accounts, the assailant was calm and meticulous… as if he had done it before.
Is that the way a drugged out college kid would have behaved?
I don’t think James Holmes could have shot kids point blank and simply moved on to others. That has to have an effect on someone. I couldn’t do it. Neither could you. And if this was a planned destabilization event, no one would have put that kid in that room with all that was at stake.
Apart from a complete and total break from reality, James Holmes would not have been capable of that act and the fact that he warned police about the traps set in his apartment, he clearly wasn’t in that mental state.
Why this film?
The most obvious part of this psyop I believe was the choice of films, Batman Dark Knight Rises.
The film is pure propaganda setting the nobility of the oligarchs verses the savagery of the masses. It is a one dimensional morality play full of every Dick Cheney/neocon cliche that was ever used to justify torture and the glorious Global Free Market Wars.
The Aurora Massacre serves as a warning of …
The shape of things to come.
If the conclusions that I and so many others have come to are indeed accurate (and we hope they are not), then we are to expect more of this.
Like in India just 10 years or so ago, we can probably expect a wave of similar acts with various targets and perpetrators.
In India, like in so many other places where fascist neoliberalism is rammed down the throats of the people, the “leftists” will invariably be cast as the culprits; the national villains.
We already hear talk of “international leftists” from the far right already. The question is who will be targeted and who will be blamed.
When hunger and hopelessness mix with the anger of seeing their communities ravaged, people need scapegoats to keep them from turning on their real enemies. Hitler knew that. So did Pinochet. So did McCarthy for that matter.
I wish I could say that I do not expect more of these kinds of horrendous acts but unfortunately I do. In the film Children of Men, it opens with a random act of terrorism that is seemingly so commonplace, the protagonist barely escapes with his life and yet he marches on diligently to his place of work.
Apparently others see it coming as well.
American Everyman wishes to extend condolences to all those injured by this horrendous act of cowardice. In a better world, there would be no need for questions like these. But America’s history and her policies make dreamers of us all if we ignore what we wish to ignore. And we can’t dream our way out of this. There is no “HOPING” there is no “BELIEVING” anymore.
It’s a hard reality we must face. So let’s get on with it.
Filed under: Aurora Massacre, Scott Creighton
I’ve always been an advocate of gun management, as in background checks and keeping assault weapons off the streets. But the more I learn about the America elites long history of brutality, exploitation and oppression at home and abroad, the more I think the NRA is justified in their unrelenting advocacy and lobbying for the Second Amendment. Not sure what happened in Colorado. Some of the reporting is odd. I stand by an assertion I’ve been making that these films are praying on a fetish that has been instilled by the U.S. PR machine. It may be that the Aurora shooter is one of a growing number of people that have psychotic episodes. Statistics suggest that the number and frequency of these acts are unique to the US. One thing for sure, the discussion on how to handle guns v government can’t get serious if we can’t get beyond media and authority manipulation of facts.
we didn’t get beyond the manipulation of facts with the murders of the Kennedys and MLK, and 9/11…… maybe we are lost.
We will keep questioning the authorities and yet we never will get an answer. 50 years from now, I think that the gov’t will admit 9/11 was an inside job.
Well thought out analysis and opinion Scott. In response to the comment on the NRA, speaking as someone who opposes most gun restrictions, I don’t trust them. They are bankrolling too many bigshot politicians, especially Republicans, and you have prominent NRA members like Nugent, bragging about how he got W elected governor of Texas.
Speaking of JFK and guns, I would REALLY hate to see violence spread to both sides. Unfortunately, I think JFK’s words ring very true today:
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”
Great article. What are the odds that Holmes is on the cia payroll?
at
http://abcnews.go.com/US/auroras-massacre-victims-20-year-wait-justice/story?id=16847013&page=3#.UBGUaHmaDRQ
there is a short video of Holmes when he was about 18… and a verbal note about him applying for the use of a Gun range location.. they say he applied about one month ago but never showed up for any shooting range practice… another strange item….
this is included in an ABC news article about another Aurora shooting that occurred about 20 years ago… if you look to the left of story, you’ll see several videos about Holmes…. the one I speak of is the last one.
The one TV series I watched this year–A Person of Interest. It’s a fairytale. A CIA type asset has a change of heart. Wouldn’t happen, except in a made-for-TV fairytale.
Same with this kid, only in reverse. Only way poor James could become a real-life coldblooded killer is in a fairytale, put together by jackals.
(This whole Aurora coverage–Scott, doing what you do best. Nobody does it better).
r ap
Tomorrow is a big day. The UN Treaty and the first day of the Olympics. Rumor has it that something really bad is going to happen in London.
I’m pretty scared about it. I’m from the UK and I have an immediate family member working full time at the Olympics for the whole duration. I tried to advise this person not to take the contract and I feel terrible and negligent because I only found out they’d taken it a few months ago and it was more or less too late to dissuade them. My family listen and all when I talk about politics, and it’s not that they think I’m mad or even disagree with me as such, just more that it’s kind of not real to them somehow, if you know what I mean – they’re able to dissociate from it or something. I knew the possibility was there, and If I’d got to it earlier I could have nipped it in the bud.
I haven’t been able to find anything really credible or concrete out there about it, but with all the hype and security theatre and international focus, it’s hard to believe that there isn’t something in the works.
Judging by the recent statements from Netenyahu about his intelligence that the “Iranians” (yeah right!) are planning something, which has the flavour of inoculation/predictive programming about it, I’m guessing it’ll be something like what he hints at in his interviews, a medium scale Bulgaria-style op targeted at the Israeli athletes or some such, rather then something on the scale of a new 9/11. At least I f*kin hope so, as you can imagine. Unfortunately I have no way of knowing what if anything will happen, I can only make wild guesses.
Like greenmon says, we also have to survive the psychological warfare and not let them cow us into living in fear. If it was me over there and not a family member (I don’t live in the UK) it would be easier not to freak out in a way.
You know, guys, I realize we face a great threat, and it is VERY scary, but I have sworn that the globalists will not get in my way.
I have vowed that I will go into overdrive to treasure every moment of life I have left, in particular with regard to the people close to me. This vow was made in significant part due to this sick fucking shitbags.
They will stop at nothing to preserve themselves and the sick culture and values around us. They could off us at any time, but I will not give them the pleasure of showing them fear.
I will live informed, productive, and happy. If something happens, I will always know who the culprits are…
(fixed) good philosophy and not nearly mentioned enough these days. We can’t let the fear of something keep us from living and thriving as best we can each day.
Not sure that will work in the long run. They are naturally inclined to grow more psychopathic, more exploitative, more distructive to society and the environment. Being happy isn’t enough. Though I think I understand your sentiment.
Regardig NRA, good point. They are like the gay movment in that they put self interest before the common good. Obama endorsed gay marriage so he become god on the cover of the advocate.
I have to rethink my position on guns.
Regarding progress, yes seems like we will never get beyond manipulaiton of facts and as now witness congress is setting new do nothing records.
Lol I meant “globalists” back there.
I need to post a picture…help?
you want to email it to me and I will insert it in your comment?
rscdesigns@verizon.net
Sent. “James Holmes” in the subject line
I put it in your comment. Hit refresh if you don’t see it.
This is what I don’t understand. There was an article stating that he lived with two roommates. But now when you do the search again, its gone! Unless they were the 2 shooters that was killed … especially when an officer stated a suspect was down. weird.
or it could have been that the article was simply wrong
Let us not forget the police audio. The officer reports a construction worker sees someone in all black with a red backpack AND someone in all black with a black backpack leaving the area. At that point another officer responds that he is in that location. Then nothing else about it over the radio.
And why do they give an “update” an hour into the recording of the “suspect” wearing cammo, a vest and a gasmask? Why is there no “chatter” about moving the suspect to headquarters or “suspect in custody, transporting.” If they got him at the beginning, why are they updating the suspect profile so long after he is in custody.
Also, it’s so creepy that the officer is in the theater and has to ask them to get someone to shut the movie off. You can HEAR the movie in the background, and if it disoriented the movie goers being shot at, what about the officer? You’re in a theater filled with the dead and dying, you’re told someone with an assault rifle wearing cammo and a gas mask did it, and it’s dark and this shoot um up movie is playing. Unless he knew something, (like maybe they had more than one person in custody) I think this officer would have been completely disoriented. And why were there theater workers in the workers lounge long after the place had been evacuated? So many questions…
How did this kid do this alone? Nothing adds up! I’d remember seeing someone with brightly dyed hair in a theater. Yet no statements saying I was a row up from him or I sat next to him. I believe someone got a hold of this kid and did something. I am a new reader here btw and greatly enjoy your writings. Glad I’m not the only one who sees something off on this case!
thanks Lynzee. welcome to the site. I also think that red hair would also stand out in the security camera footage if ever that was some released. But no worries, we got stick figure drawings
Haha. When I heard that I just rolled my eyes. The story has already changed. While I do not know the truth of what happened, I do believe that something is just off to put it mildly. Does anyone know if they actually found gun powder on his hands? I know they put bags over his hands to preserve any evidence, but was any actually found?
“The shape of things to come” indeed. Speaking of Children of Men, In 1995 I spent a couple of months in Croatia/Ex-Yugoslavia pre-Dayton. I was never near any active danger zones, but I got to see the surreal social and political fabric of “low intensity warfare” first hand. It was a transformative experience for me and I made some life-long friends. The refugees, the burnt-out bombed-out buildings, the continual movement of troops and material, the non-stop news and political coverage, the solidarity, the irrational hatreds, the omnipresent branding campaign of an insecure elite trying desperately to assert the legitimacy of their state.
Maps of Croatian “territorial integrity” on every manufactured item. Croatian territorial integrity keyrings, Croatian territorial integrity phone cards, Croatian territorial integrity chocolate bars, and red-and-white checked shields as far as the eye could see so that by the time I left the sweltering heat, I was seeing red-and-white checks in front of my eyes,
The fictionalised ideology of post-modern “national struggle” was so real and palpable it was like a drug in the air – an all enveloping hypnotic fantasy that people both willingly believed and simultaneously rejected at the same time. I came to understand what Orwell meant by doublethink. Because while on the one hand the majority of people were caught up in the war-feeling and national solidarity, at the same time everyone had a deeply cynical black humour, and their own personal stories of corrupt officials, separated families, fabricated provocations, black market dealings with the outside forces and betrayals of soldiers and civilians by the politicians on their own side”. At the same time as getting shit-faced drunk and proudly waving their flags around, there were political cartoons of Tudjman and Milosevic in bed together, carving up a map of Bosnia together and so on openly circulating (even in the press!), and there was a strong distrust of the UNPROFOR deployment on all sides, and a general understanding of its presence as a self-interested third force and factor in the regional destabilisation.
Perhaps the strangest aspect was that in the midst of all the madness, there was a strong sense of normalcy and getting on with day-to-day existence.
I always had the feeling, not of stepping backwards into the culture of some archaic bygone era, but of having stepped in some sense into the future. When I saw in some talk Slavoj Zizek (Slovenian philosopher and interesting guy, not that I always agree with him) talking about ex-yugoslavia and post-modern nationalist idenities, and he paused and said to the audience “pay attention, it’s your future!”, it resonated so deeply with me I nearly fell off my chair.
Children of Men is a great film.
Is there a word limit? I tried to post a comment about Children of Men, the shape of things to come, and the experiences I had in ex-Yugoslavia in ’95 that it reminded me of but maybe it was too long, I’m a bit of a blowhard, sorry
If it was too long or off topic or something and you didn’t like it, let me know please let me know Wily I don’t want to annoy ppl on here!
sorry. I found it. no not off topic at all. Actually, I’m working on something comparing Yugoslavia to Syria now.
This is a tyrannical government and if you think the second amendment stands, then should we start shooting? Will it be another government/regime that has to free US of tyranny? The elite will decide, the strength lies in No moral impediment.
You do great work. I thank you not just on behalf of everyone living in this country but on behalf of humans all over the world.
We need to wake up before it’s too late and people like you are making it a lot easier.
¨the shape of things to come ¨ and lets say we are dealing with a staged event – was it staged for us, us the truthers, the conspirologists, the worried, the meek? No, certainly not – it was staged for an audience, an audience that stands under, that is not vigil but holds vigils – we expect this of men, of women -an ages long probe of normalcy shall hold true today and even in mourning behold the scapegoat and judge harshly.
Remember Altamont – no – well, they called it the end of an era, made a movie and the era ended. Was Aurora a gun control control? Or was Aurora the end of… Occupy? – Ask the batman, or occupy a riddle.
This site has survived many things, Neocons, Neoliberals, Libertarians, Lybia, Afghanistan,,, and even Alex Jones. Will this site overexpose, will we have the truth,the sad truth, the only logical explanation? So what – we worked, we put our heads down and into it, so what if we finally, finally glimpse some truth? The show was not meant for us.
If It was staged and planned ….. like another ‘shock and awe’ for the Americans and our global neighbors……. what was the outcome message? Lose the right to bear arms… seems to be the strongest odor in the wind…
Occupy has already been stabbed…… litterally….. and shot… and arrested… not much left of it….. guess Batman will finish it?
Look you can see the knife just to the right of the gas mask in pictures. They are smart and only ever show the mask from the same angle, but you can tell it’s a knife. From the only angle they can show it from, if they photographed it from any other angle, even the sheep would even be able to tell its a knife. You are looking at the butt side of the knife with a piece of paper over it.
Then the knife totally disappears in other pictures, it never had it’s own evidence marker anyways, only #1 for the gas mask and the knife. That is 2 items.
Looks like somebody put a piece of paper over the knife too so they couldn’t see it from areal view.
It just keeps getting worse and worse, plus a gag order on everyone involved:
Aurora shooting: Ambulances available but many went unused
http://www.denverpost.com/theatershooting/ci_21168806/aurora-shooting-ambulances-available-but-many-went-unused?source=rss&utm_medium=twitter&cref=twitter
And this is news? We need to know about Holmes and what really happened. I think the media is trying to push other “news” that is completely irrelevant in hopes that we will forget about this event like many events before? Since Olympics starts tomorrow, its going to be just about that…. Perfect timing I think.
So when will we find out about the result of the treaty?
Surely if a bomb goes off somewhere in London today this whole incident will be forgotten as the masses gorge themselves on the next tragedy. However, I will never forget about this one and I hope others won’t either.
I hope all the suspicions about the Olympics won’t become true. I have some hope because TPTB surely noticed there’s too much ‘awareness’…or maybe that’s exactly why they’re kicking things into high gear.
The one thing we have is numbers.
True. If everyone speculates that something will happen, then it won’t. What I find interesting is that there has been some hints of something greater that will happen, specifically during the London Olympics. Perfect timing with the presidential election this year. I find it particularly interesting that the Olympic is built on nuclear site.
But there has been a lot of recent news report that “Iran” is going to “strike the USA” which we know its not true. So this will be a coverup to go into war against Iran. USA knows that it doesn’t stand a chance because of Iran’s support from China and Russia, and probably others.
But this Aurora shooting is nothing compared to the bombing and killings oversees, the recent rise in officer involved shooting, etc. The fact that there is no evidence of anything leaves me thinking that it is all just a staged event. Why can’t we see pictures of badly injured victims? Especially those that were interviewed right away. No damage to their clothing or swollen eyes from the smoke?
The victims in the hospital photos looked so camera ready. Who would have a perfectly put makeup on and still have the same clothing on since the event when they have been exposed to chemicals and gas residues or blood. Why are the friends or girlfriend or whatever… if they were sitting next to their dead victim, then why don’t they have blood on them? You would think that there would be blood transfer when they are being shot next to them or while protecting the other.
Holmes will slip out and get away scot free, because they know he didn’t do it. He will probably get plastic surgery or change his looks drastically and continue to work on another assignment for the CIA. He is the perfect profile for a “lone nut” who is so intelligent and because of his failed oral exam (which may have been on purpose) and the fact he withdrew from the program will have people thinking he was “depressed” and has a serious mental breakdown of …. It is reported that Holmes went to buy guns after he failed the exam, but where is the proof? None.
I can go on, but it is only repeating what others have said. The more I am seeing false reports that makes sense leads me to believe this is just another “movie”…
hey, i’m not sure if i accidently didn’t post my last comment, or if you removed it? there is a few new things in this thread i just found, if you are interested in reading it.
http://www.dailypaul.com/246328/batman-shooter-doesnt-remember-the-incident
there’s something in there about his dad and testifying in front of congress about bank fraud, but there is no verifiable link to the supposed report, and apparently the person who wrote the story is known to be a wingnut/disinfo agt (Sorcha Faal)…certainly if it is true, it should be verifiable.
The knife thing is a cover up. Now you see it now you don’t.
Why hide a weapon ? No one was stabbed… so why was it there? The shooter certainly seems to have had no plan on getting that close to any victim…. what could he have planned to use it for? It is silent: and unexpected; maybe for defense against a co-suspect ?
i’m starting to think that, beyond the possible gun law agenda and other ulterior motives, maybe these things are simply this:
Entertainment for the fascist elite.
The sheep get to see a movie, the psychopaths get to see a bloody massacre. Of course broadcast internationally for all the colleagues around the world to join the ‘show’.
Side note:
Side by side release photos of James Holmes – That’s NOT the same guy at all – look at the nose!
to my knowledge the photos are years apart. just looks like he lost weight and facial appearances do change during the years
The width of your nose (nostril width) should stay the same though – weight loss or not, IMO
he was smiling in the one picture. that could have an effect on the width
I agree, from the picture it could be the same guy, at least it’s not clear like in the “Fatty Bin Laden” tape case.
however the FBI reportedly said he is 6’3″ while a couple of witnesses asid the gunman looked 5’10″- 5’11″
im still guessing mossad operative. also never forget the commonplace terrrorists in the movie Brazil based on 1984.
Idaho has an electronic billboard up showing picture of Holmes and Obama and comparing Obama to Holmes.
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/07/27/12996261-idaho-billboard-compares-obama-to-colorado-theater-shooting-suspect?lite
Alright, first off, this article completely describes how I feel about the case, perfectly summarized in “There is a great deal of hard evidence that there was another person involved and it has been my conclusion after researching this event that someone other than James Holmes committed this atrocity while Holmes was drugged in the car waiting to be discovered.”
I truly believe that Holmes did not do this, but there are two parts to this story that just don’t seem to fit and I was wondering what your (willyloman’s) take on them is. First, I read an article online that included a quote from a mailman who claims he delivered multiple packages to Holme’s apartment in the previous weeks, and had dyed his hair red around May. If Holmes really was drugged as kind of a scapegoat and left in the car, what could explain him knowingly accepting the multitudes of large packages, as the mailman put it, in these past weeks/months? Also, the “will you visit me in prison” subtitle on his online dating profiles don’t really match up with the “waiting to be discovered” idea either.
I’m not trying to discredit or discard your ideas or anything, as I agree with your ideas, I just don’t know how to fit these two pieces of information (if they are even credible) into the puzzle. Thanks!
Well, first of all, the rest of his internet presence seems to have been scrubbed in the last few months. I wouldn’t be hard for someone to create an Adult Friend Finder account for him and set it up without his knowledge. If this was planned out by someone other than James, then they would certainly wish to plant some incriminating blurbs here and there which tend to point to his guilt.
As for the packages, that’s a little harder. But, it’s not inconceivable that the mailman delivered the packages and someone else picked them up or he ordered them for someone else or the packages had something else in them.
There are a number of possibilities and I admit, it’s odd, but I think the preponderance of the evidence shows that Holmes did not do this and there is an ongoing effort to try him in the court of public opinion with very sketchy evidence. To me that means that someone doesn’t want the real shooter found and there can only be one reason for that
After your response, I looked at the AFF profile and discovered that the birthdate is incorrect. It lists his birthdate as 12/10/87, when his birthdate listed by other sources, like the jail is 12/13/87.
The Aurora incident has sparked wild debate on whether or not to preserve the Second Amendment, but let us not forget the Sixth:
“In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial.”
However, the right to a public trial is not absolute. In cases where excess publicity would serve to undermine the defendant’s right to due process, limitations can be put on public access to the proceedings.
Trials can be closed at the behest of the government on account of there being “an overriding interest based on findings that closure is essential to preserve higher values.”
The accused may also request a closure of the trial; though, it must be demonstrated that “first, there is a substantial probability that the defendant’s right to a fair trial will be prejudiced by publicity that closure would prevent.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution
It’s certainly not unprecedented and it’s hard to figure who is hurt more by the secrecy surrounding this case. On one hand, they’re trying him in the court of public opinion which is certainly detrimental to his case. However, since the internet is still relatively free (with the notable exception of paid marketing influence peddlers hired to go online as various personae pushing an agenda for their clients) their evidence is being picked apart pretty quickly. This ridiculous “stick figure drawing” confession being a good example of that. I wonder what that actually looks like and how long it would take 4chan or ATS to pick it clean. So, it kind of works both ways in this case. I want to know what condition Holmes was in when they found him and arrested him. That’s very important to the case. I fear that bit of info might just be the real reason they want to keep the lid on the evidence. I could be wrong. Maybe we’ll see that police report later.
I agree, his condition upon arrest is key. Reports have not raised the most basic of questions. What was he wearing? Did they undress him at the scene? How does the gas mask numbered evidence #1 fit into this? Was there blood on his footwear? Did he show signs of injury? Was he lucid? Could he walk without assistance? Did Police shatter the car’s passenger windows in order to get him out? Why? Or were the windows found broken? What would that suggest?
Great work Scott btw, I liked the Spine Board and the Mugshot threads, I was pondering the same questions.
The fact they did not disclose an official photo of the detained until 3 days after arrest, begs the question, why?
Arrows are definitely pointing to him being incapacitated. In that case, we must ask, did James Holmes participate in the shooting willingly or against his will?
As for the notebook, it seems prosecutors were today ordered to turn over the notebook to defense attorneys, and media have requested to unseal them.
This is interesting because, in this case, the lack of public access has caused excess publicity in wrongfully reported findings that have definitely NOT preserved the case’s higher values.
I wonder if the defendant can request an open case? If he can demonstrate that his right to a fair trial is being prejudiced by sealing the case, and that public access would actually allow for a fairer process?
I would also argue that media’s wrongful reporting (due to sealing the case) is also creating unnecessary confusion and a lack of closure for the victims and their families.
And finally, the report of him asking, “Why am I here?” has serious consequences; it is also part of the Sixth Amendment “to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation.”
So next time anyone wants to quote the second, and fight for America’s right to bear arms, remember that it is also America’s right to a fair and public trial, something that is being denied to the suspect, the victims and family of the Aurora Massacre.