James Holmes' defense plays videos of Dark Knight gunman slamming his head against his cell wall and exposing himself in hospital bed as it rests its 'insanity' case

  • James Holmes shot dead 12 people and injured 70 in July 2012 massacre
  • Defense lawyers concede that he was gunman in deadly Colorado attack
  • However, they claim he was legally insane when he opened fire with rifle
  • On Friday, they played two videos of defendant as they rested their case
  • In one, Holmes was filmed slamming his head against his prison cell wall
  • In other, he kept pulling hospital blanket over head, exposing lower half
  • Earlier, a psychiatrist for defense had told court that the defendant still believes he boosted his self-worth, by killing moviegoers at screening
  • Prosecutors say Holmes is cold-blooded murderer who aimed to kill 400
  • They did not call any rebuttal witnesses at Friday's hearing as expected

Defense lawyers for James Holmes - the gunman in the 2012 Dark Knight massacre - rested their case on Friday after trying to show the defendant was legally insane when he shot dead 12 people.

The public defenders concede that Holmes opened fire on moviegoers with a semiautomatic rifle, shotgun and pistol inside a theater in Aurora, Colorado, killing a dozen and injuring a further 70.

However, they claim that the shooter - who had also rigged his apartment with bombs - suffers from schizophrenia and was, therefore, 'not capable' of telling the difference between right and wrong'.

On Friday, Holmes's lawyers played two videos of the defendant acting in a psychologically unstable manner - one, taken in his prison cell, the second, in hospital - in a bid to avoid the death penalty.

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Legally insane? Defense lawyers for James Holmes  played two videos of the Dark Knight massacre shooter acting in a psychologically unstable manner before they rested their case on Friday. Above, Holmes (far left, in blue) watches one of the videos, which sees him run and slam his head against the wall of his prison cell

Legally insane? Defense lawyers for James Holmes played two videos of the Dark Knight massacre shooter acting in a psychologically unstable manner before they rested their case on Friday. Above, Holmes (far left, in blue) watches one of the videos, which sees him run and slam his head against the wall of his prison cell

Gunman: The public defenders concede that Holmes (pictured in court three days after the massacre) opened fire on moviegoers with a semiautomatic rifle, shotgun and pistol inside a Colorado theater on July 20, 2012

In one of the two silent surveillance videos, both captured in the months following the massacre, Holmes is seen running and slamming his head against the wall of his cell, before falling back.

In the other, he is filmed naked and tethered to a bed, repeatedly trying to cover his head with a blanket and a sheet, while officials attempted to pull them off and cover the lower half of his body.

A day earlier, Raquel Gur, the director of the Schizophrenia Research Center at the University of Pennsylvania, had testified in defense of her diagnosis that Holmes was insane during the attack.

The defense's star witness had declared: 'He was not capable of differentiating between right and wrong. He was not capable of understanding that the people that he was going to kill wanted to live.'

She also informed jurors that the defendant still believes he boosted his 'human capital,' or self-worth, by killing the 12 moviegoers during a midnight screening of the film,The Dark Knight Rises.

A severe defect in his brain means he is not to blame, said Gur, a noted psychiatrist and author who once examined Unabomber Ted Kaczynski and Arizona mass shooter Jared Loughner.

Trial: On Friday, defense witness, Raquel Gur, director of the Schizophrenia Research Center at the University of Pennsylvania, had spent four days on the stand testifying that Holmes was insane. 'He was not capable of differentiating between right and wrong,' she had said. Above, Holmes (far left) is seen in court on Monday

Trial: On Friday, defense witness, Raquel Gur, director of the Schizophrenia Research Center at the University of Pennsylvania, had spent four days on the stand testifying that Holmes was insane. 'He was not capable of differentiating between right and wrong,' she had said. Above, Holmes (far left) is seen in court on Monday

'Not to blame': A severe defect in his brain meant Holmes was not to blame, said Gur, a noted psychiatrist and author. Above, Gur is seen testifying (right) in court in Centennial, Colorado, as Holmes (second left) watches

'Not to blame': A severe defect in his brain meant Holmes was not to blame, said Gur, a noted psychiatrist and author. Above, Gur is seen testifying (right) in court in Centennial, Colorado, as Holmes (second left) watches

High-profile case: A sheriff's deputy walks over the grounds of Arapahoe County District Court on Wednesday

High-profile case: A sheriff's deputy walks over the grounds of Arapahoe County District Court on Wednesday

She added that Holmes has been emotionless in 28 hours of interviews over two years. 

Holmes's public defenders presented two weeks of testimony featuring Gur and another psychiatrist who both examined the gunman and found that he met the legal standard for insanity.

Earlier in the trial, two court-appointed doctors testified for the prosecution saying Holmes knew the difference between right and wrong at the time of the killings, so was sane under Colorado law.

Prosecutors accuse Holmes of being a cold-blooded murderer who aimed to kill all 400 people in the packed premiere. He failed, in part, because the drum magazine he bought for his rifle jammed.

But Holmes's lawyers have contended from the start that he was in the grips of a psychotic episode. 

Like on Friday, they had previously highlighted Holmes's bizarre behavior after the July 20, 2012, shooting, including playing with paper bags, placed over his hands, to preserve gunshot residue.

Shooter: Holmes, left, and his defense attorney, Daniel King, are pictured in court on the morning of June 4

Shooter: Holmes, left, and his defense attorney, Daniel King, are pictured in court on the morning of June 4

Massacre scene: The defense team's task was to raise reasonable doubt over whether Holmes was sane and show he should not be held accountable for his actions at the Denver-area theater (pictured) in July 2012

Massacre scene: The defense team's task was to raise reasonable doubt over whether Holmes was sane and show he should not be held accountable for his actions at the Denver-area theater (pictured) in July 2012

Their task was to raise reasonable doubt over whether Holmes was sane and show he should not be held accountable for his actions at the Denver-area theater because of his depleted mental state.

Holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

If the jury agrees, he would avoid the death penalty and likely spend the rest of his life committed to the state's mental hospital in Pueblo, 100 miles (160 km) south of Denver.

In Colorado, prosecutors have the burden of proof in insanity cases. 

Most states and the federal system place that burden on defendants.

The defense made its largely clinical case in about a quarter of the time that prosecutors took to present emotional and sometimes gruesome testimony from shooting survivors and investigators.

This included photos of wounds and video of carnage inside the theater.

Robert and Arlene Holmes (pictured in April 2013) also deny their son is a 'monster', saying he is mentally ill

Robert and Arlene Holmes (pictured in April 2013) also deny their son is a 'monster', saying he is mentally ill

Holmes is pictured in his mug shot
The shooter during his first court appearance

Defendant: Holmes is pictured in his mug shot (left) and during his first court appearance in July 2013 (right)

District Attorney George Brauchler attacked Gur's testimony during lengthy cross-examination.

Suggesting she neglected important indicators of Holmes' state of mind, he said she failed to take detailed notes, and wrote a much shorter report than the court-appointed psychiatrists.

'Why not just send in a postcard?' Brauchler asked.

But in fighting for an 'insanity' ruling, Holmes's attorneys referenced his a family history of disorders, including an aunt of Holmes who had schizophrenia and a grandfather who was institutionalized.

Holmes did not take the stand during the two-and-a-half month trial. When asked by Judge Carlos A. Samour whether he would Thursday, Holmes replied 'I choose not to testify' in a clear, firm voice.

After Holmes' attorneys wrapped up their case on Friday, some victims and relatives of those killed hugged the prosecutors, who did not call any rebuttal witnesses as they were expected to do. 

 

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