James Holmes v.

The People of the State of Colorado

Caleb Robinson

English 103 V. Hurst October 28, 2012

Robinson 2
Table of Contents

I.

Introduction

II. Childhood a. Experiences b. Parents III. Adolescence a. High school b. Programs IV. College to PhD. Program a. College Life b. In the PhD. Program V. Psychological Issues

1 2

2 3

4 5

a. Psychiatrist visits b. Warning signs c. Odd behaviors

VI. Aurora, CO

Robinson 3 a. City background information b. Points of interest

VII. Events Leading up to the Shooting VIII.

The Shooting a. Weapons and gear used b. What occurred? c. How it happened d. Victims
e. Post-Shooting Occurrences

IX. Community Response

a. Reactions b. Victims speak out c. Victims fund d. Century 16 Theater

X. Case Proceedings XI. Conspiracy Theories XII. Photos and Videos

Robinson 4 a. Photos b. Videos

XIII.

References

Robinson 5

Introduction The Aurora shooting case is nothing new, however, only a handful of those who toss judgment on to the case have not looked in to what really happened. James Holmes is a man who was pushed too far from his workload and who was possibly misdiagnosed and put on the wrong medications. He needed help, though no one made the attempt to help this man. Sentencing him to a life in prison, or the death penalty, is unfair, however, he should be placed somewhere where he can regain his previous mental state. Even if the man is never let back out in to society, it is better for him to return to return to the state of mind he was in before than living in prison or dying as a druggedup, foggy-minded shell of his former self. Childhood a. Childhood Experiences James Holmes was born on December 13, 1987 to his parents, Robert and Arlene Holmes. As a child, James was always well-behaved. He was liked by everyone around him, and he excelled in soccer and flag football, as well as computer programming. James has been naturally gifted in academics. Hes been smart, ever since he was a child. James, often called Jimmy, had shown no signs of mental instability as a child and it was said he grew up in near perfect conditions. He has a

Robinson 6 younger sister, named Chris, who is five years younger than himself (Lutz, How James Holmes). James was raised in Castroville, CA (To which he referenced to be the Artichoke Capital in his graduate school applications) through elementary school. From there, his family moved to San Diego, CA where he lived until he attended college. b. Parents James parents, Robert and Arlene Holmes. His mother Arlene is a registered nurse, while his father is a senior scientist at FICO. FICO is a company that provides credit scores, along with other information. (Lutz, How James Holmes) His parents worked hard to provide him and his sister with a great childhood. Its also believed that James/Jimmys father held him to high-standards, academically-wise. This has never been stated to be either true or false, but it is merely a speculation by those following the case. Adolescence a. High School When James began high school, his family had already moved to San Diego, away from his childhood home. He attended Westview High School in the Torrey Highlands district of San Diego. This district is considered to be one of the upper-class parts of San Diego, where its residents make about $130,000 each per year.

Robinson 7 Holmes was said to be quite reclusive or quiet during his high school years, a change from his social elementary years. His mother said he kept himself busy with his school work and video games. Holmes was also a member of Westviews Cross Country and soccer teams. Jimmy graduated from Westview High School in 2006. It is currently unknown at what class position he graduated at, however, it is assumed he graduated in the top, as he was a smart child. b. Programs After James had graduated from Westview, he landed an internship at the prestigious Salk University. At Salk, Holmes had worked with John Jacobson on a project on Temporal Illusions. James was set to work with Jacobson due to his knowledge of computer programming. He was working on a program for Jacobsons experiment. According to Jacobsons reports, Holmes had never finished the program and what he had given him was a complete mess. Jacobson described James as someone who was average and socially inept. He had stated that James should have never gotten in to the program, as he wasnt any sort of genius or brilliant neuroscientist. The video, as shown here, displays James giving a presentation of the temporal illusions. Temporal illusions are misfirings in brain cells that lead to misreading the passage of

Robinson 8 time the feeling that time stands still. In the video, he appears somewhat nervous. He tends to break eye contact often, displaying his social inabilities. Even though he appeared as such in this program, it was never assumed that he could have been dangerous to society. James had spent 8 weeks over his summer after graduating high school here. He had already been accepted to the University of California-Riverside as a neuroscience major. (Strauss, Colorado Suspect James Holmes) College to PhD. Program a. College Life Holmes attended the University of California at Riverside from 2006 to 2010 as a scholarship student. He was academically successful there, unlike his internship over that summer. He had graduated with honors in the difficult neuroscience program. While in college, James appeared to listen to lectures more than actually take notes. His professors often described him as a quiet leader. When he felt necessary, James would take the initiative and become a great leader. "Academically, he was at the top of the top," Chancellor Timothy P. White said. (Castillo & Carter, Background of Colorado shooting) While attending UC Riverside, Holmes kept himself clean. He never had any run-ins with the campus police and never found himself in any trouble. He

Robinson 9 worked hard at school and kept his life in shape. Knowing he was a student with a spotless record will come in to play when we get to the psycho-analysis of James. James also was also a camp counselor at a camp for underprivileged children over a summer in college. He led twelve boys, from ages ten to eleven, in activities throughout the camp. He stated that he learned a lot in the field of leadership through this. He would allow the children to vote on what they wanted to do the day, be it rest, play games, hike However, he stated that this would often lead to chaos, due to many wanting to do things different from the others, so he switched his strategy of leading them to one that ran on more of a schedule. The children he led would often come to him for any sort of problem they were having. He said they would ask him for help with letters they wrote home to parents, one of the children even asking him how to spell amazing. Many of the children he led were diagnosed with a medical condition that required them to take some form of medication. About two kids per cabin had ADHD and he even mentored a child with Schizophrenia. The medication they had to take took them from highly energetic creative kids to lax beings who slept through the activities. Holmes felt that he should help them, but he knew that because of the medication, he couldnt. That is where he

Robinson 10 felt his studying in neuroscience was much needed. (Holmes, Application for University of Iowa) b. Grad School Applications After graduating from UC Riverside with the highest honors, James began applying to different grad schools to further his degree in neuroscience. He applied at the University of Iowa, University of Illinois, where he was accepted and the University of Colorado Denver, where he was also accepted and chose to attend. James applications stated that he had pursued his degree in neuroscience because of his, "foremost passions, the science of learning, cognition and memory." He also said, "I have always been fascinated by the complexities of a long lost thought seemingly arising out of nowhere into a stream of awareness. Holmes had also written on his childhood and experiences as a camp counselor in the application, stating that his experiences there are something that is fueling his wanting to become a successful neuroscientist.