...by the news that James Holmes has been charged with 24 counts of murder and yet he 'only' killed 12 people.
A friend suggested ' if he has a dual personality, they may both be guilty. 12 x 2 = 24. Simples!' Which at the moment seens the only logical explanation!!!
Can someone shed any light on this for me?
My youngest son mentioned the same thing to me earlier today.
ReplyDeleteI had no answer then either.
Great Blog!
2E/
ReplyDeleteThanx (but still confused!)
Regards/
The way I heard it explained was that each of the two counts offered different interpretations about the motives and aggravating circumstances surrounding the shooting. The first count per murdered victim citing that he "unlawfully, feloniously, after deliberation, and with the intent to cause the death of a person other than himself, caused the death" of each murdered victim, and the other count per murdered victim citing that he "unlawfully and feloniously, under circumstances evidencing an attitude of universal malice manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life generally, knowingly engaged in conduct which created a grave risk of death to personal other than himself, and thereby caused the death" of each murdered victim. It was explained that the prosecution might be providing two different perspectives for the jury to consider based on the evidence presented at trial of things like premeditation, malice, etc., especially since if they seek the death penalty they will have to show extreme malice or indifference in the committing of the crime. I don't think he could be found guilty of both charges in any of the cases, as that would be double jeopardy, as each of them has at the base the same crime: this person was killed by James Holmes.
ReplyDeleteThanx man! Was baffling me.
ReplyDeleteRegards/
Thanks. Still confused but now it makes slightly more sense then before.
ReplyDelete