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James Holmes to be Harnessed to Courtroom Floor During Trial |
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 40208968
 United States
06/28/2013 01:09 AM
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Report Copyright Violation | James Holmes to be Harnessed to Courtroom Floor During Trial DENVER Colorado theater shooting suspect James Holmes will be restrained during his trial by wearing a harness under his clothes that will be anchored to the floor, the judge said Thursday.
Judge Carlos A. Samour Jr. also ruled the jury will not be sequestered during the trial, which is scheduled to start in February and is expected to take four months.
Holmes is accused of killing 12 people and injuring 70 others at a movie theater in the Denver suburb of Aurora in July.
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He has worn heavy shackles on his wrists and ankles during pretrial hearings. His lawyers wanted him to be unshackled during the trial, saying the restraints would make him look guilty to the jury.
Samour said Holmes has to be restrained because he is charged with violent crimes. He said jurors won't see the harness, and the anchoring cable will blend in with computer cables at the defense table.
The judge ruled earlier that Holmes can wear civilian clothing at his trial.
Holmes pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to multiple charges of murder and attempted murder. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Defense lawyers wanted the jury sequestered and wanted the jurors barred from having phones, laptop computers or any other electronics devices during the trial.
The judge said sequestration for such a long time would be costly and impractical, and would create an undue burden on jurors. He implied it also could prompt some prospective jurors to try to avoid the case.
However, Samour said he would allow defense lawyers to renew the request later if they think they have grounds to do so.
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The Colorado massacre suspect
Denying jurors access to smartphones, computers, television sets and radios — along with email and the Internet — would be drastic and unfair, the judge said.
But he did rule jurors will not be allowed to have the devices in court or during deliberations.
Samour said he might seat as many as 12 alternate jurors — an unusually large number — in the event any of the 12 regular jurors is dismissed for hearing outside information or other reasons.
"The court cannot keep the jurors in a bubble, completely sealed off from the outside world," the judge said.
Samour has said 5,000 potential jurors will get a summons and that he expects 3,200 to 3,500 to respond.
Holmes' lawyers had also asked the judge to scale back the heavy security that has been present during 11 months of pretrial hearings, saying it would be "extraordinary and unnecessary" during the trial and would prejudice the jury against Holmes.
They also objected to deputies standing so close to Holmes in the courtroom that they could hear his conversations with his attorneys.
Eight Arapahoe County sheriff's deputies usually stand guard in the courtroom during hearings. Others watch from the rooftops of the two courthouse buildings and in the parking lot.
Samour said four of the deputies in the courtroom will wear uniforms during the trial, and any others will wear street clothes. He also said they will keep a reasonable distance from the defense table.
The judge overruled the defense objection to having deputies on the rooftops and in the parking lot, saying they're necessary to protect Holmes and the public.
Samour said Sheriff Grayson Robinson had agreed to the hidden harness and tether for Holmes and the plainclothes deputies in the courtroom. Samour added he trusts Robinson's expertise and will heed his advice. [ link to www.cbsnews.com] |
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Anonymous Coward (OP)
User ID: 40208968
United States
06/28/2013 01:12 AM
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Report Copyright Violation | Re: James Holmes to be Harnessed to Courtroom Floor During Trial Also, no jury sequestration is quite risky |
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 42387720
United States
06/28/2013 01:15 AM
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Report Copyright Violation | Re: James Holmes to be Harnessed to Courtroom Floor During Trial What the hell could an unarmed 140lb dude do while in a courtroom and admittedly surrounded by a dozen deputies? Whatever happened to guilty until proven innocent? When will they begin shackling all of us to the floor when we show up for traffic court too? |
Anonymous Coward (OP)
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06/28/2013 01:19 AM
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Report Copyright Violation | Re: James Holmes to be Harnessed to Courtroom Floor During Trial
They're lowering the amount of deputies in uniform to only four now, the rest will be somewhere in the courtroom in plain clothes. This is to make him look like less of a monster to the jurors. The invisible harness is being implemented for that same purpose, although if they know it's there I guess that defeats the purpose. They know he's a caged animal. |
Anonymous Coward (OP)
User ID: 40208968
United States
06/28/2013 01:25 AM
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Report Copyright Violation | Re: James Holmes to be Harnessed to Courtroom Floor During Trial -James will not appear in handcuffs or shackles. He will have a harness that's anchored to the floor.
-All but 4 of the deputies will be dressed in civilian clothes, and they will keep a reasonable distance from the defense counsel table during the trial.
-The armed security on the roofs, parking lots, and surrounding areas will remain. |
BxMac
User ID: 18472095
United States
06/28/2013 01:27 AM
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Report Copyright Violation | Re: James Holmes to be Harnessed to Courtroom Floor During Trial They'll just dose Holmes heavier than usual for the trial. Don't know why they need the harness with all the shit they've got running through his veins. They've doped that boy from the jump and will continue to do so until he's served his purpose. |
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 33348351
United States
06/28/2013 01:31 AM
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Report Copyright Violation | Re: James Holmes to be Harnessed to Courtroom Floor During Trial Its all about perception. see he has to look crazy. Just an act for the media to play off of..... |
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Anonymous Coward (OP)
User ID: 40208968
United States
06/28/2013 01:38 AM
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Report Copyright Violation | Re: James Holmes to be Harnessed to Courtroom Floor During Trial Its all about perception. see he has to look crazy. Just an act for the media to play off of.....
Quoting: Anonymous Coward 33348351 Right, but then why allow him to wear civilian clothing and reduce number of guards surrounding him? Having the harness invisible actually makes him appear less guilty imo. |
Free Planet
User ID: 42458595
 United Kingdom
06/28/2013 01:42 AM
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Report Copyright Violation | Re: James Holmes to be Harnessed to Courtroom Floor During Trial oh, it's all about the theatre of Court TV, dahlink. [ link to media.tumblr.com] |
Anonymous Coward (OP)
User ID: 40208968
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06/28/2013 01:48 AM
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Report Copyright Violation | Re: James Holmes to be Harnessed to Courtroom Floor During Trial
Quoting: Free Planet 42458595 It will be underneath his clothes, and the cable will blend in with the computer cables (so they say) |
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 33348351
United States
06/28/2013 01:54 AM
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Report Copyright Violation | Re: James Holmes to be Harnessed to Courtroom Floor During Trial Its all about perception. see he has to look crazy. Just an act for the media to play off of.....
Quoting: Anonymous Coward 33348351 Right, but then why allow him to wear civilian clothing and reduce number of guards surrounding him? Having the harness invisible actually makes him appear less guilty imo. Thats why they released the info about the harness. The clothing is just part of what is allowed when you go to court. |
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 42027602
United States
06/28/2013 01:58 AM
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Report Copyright Violation | Re: James Holmes to be Harnessed to Courtroom Floor During Trial it's because he doesn't look so crazy anymore, and a heavy security presence makes it look like he's being set up
they tried to make him loo dangerous and sadistic, and now they have totally relaxed the act |
Anonymous Coward (OP)
User ID: 40208968
United States
06/28/2013 02:01 AM
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Report Copyright Violation | Re: James Holmes to be Harnessed to Courtroom Floor During Trial
it's because he doesn't look so crazy anymore, and a heavy security presence makes it look like he's being set up
they tried to make him loo dangerous and sadistic, and now they have totally relaxed the act
Quoting: Anonymous Coward 42027602 Wonder why, though... |
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 24931021
United States
06/28/2013 02:10 AM
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Report Copyright Violation | Re: James Holmes to be Harnessed to Courtroom Floor During Trial Is this guy the son of John Holmes? |
Anonymous Coward (OP)
User ID: 40208968
United States
06/28/2013 02:17 AM
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Report Copyright Violation | Re: James Holmes to be Harnessed to Courtroom Floor During Trial Is this guy the son of John Holmes?
Quoting: Anonymous Coward 24931021 Nope |
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 42215713
United States
06/28/2013 02:18 AM
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Report Copyright Violation | Re: James Holmes to be Harnessed to Courtroom Floor During Trial
What the hell could an unarmed 140lb dude do while in a courtroom and admittedly surrounded by a dozen deputies? Whatever happened to guilty until proven innocent? When will they begin shackling all of us to the floor when we show up for traffic court too?
Quoting: Anonymous Coward 42387720 There is a video on youtube of two women in england, each under 140 lbs. Who ran out in traffic got hit and ran over by trucks. The first responders tried to start treatment. one woke up overpowered all of them and went on her merry way. When they finally caught them, they had no drugs in their system and were un-harmed. All MSM vetted stuff with video of it all. |
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 3460057
 Australia
06/28/2013 02:26 AM
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Report Copyright Violation | Re: James Holmes to be Harnessed to Courtroom Floor During Trial Whatever happened to guilty until proven innocent?
Quoting: Anonymous Coward 42387720 errrr .... wut? |
Anonymous Coward (OP)
User ID: 40208968
United States
06/28/2013 02:30 AM
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Report Copyright Violation | Re: James Holmes to be Harnessed to Courtroom Floor During Trial They didn't do this to Nathan Dunlap who was yelling at the victims families, apparently. Not even Richard Ramirez. |
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