A Colorado jury decided today that the facts surrounding Colorado mass killer James Holmes did not show that mitigating factors outweighed aggravating ones. The jury will thus move on to decide whether to impose a death sentence.
The ABC News story notes that it took the jury just three hours to reach this decision, despite a barrage of defense testimony from a psychiatrist, Holmes' relatives, teachers, church leaders, soccer buddies and camp counselor friends.
If I were defense counsel, I would be more than a little concerned at the speed of the jury's decision. Still, as long as there is a one-juror veto in capital cases, nothing is for sure. It is nonetheless encouraging to me that the jury did not fall for the mental-state defense.
It's not that I don't think Holmes is crazy. He may well be crazy. But the legal, and moral, question is whether he could understand the wrongfulness of his actions and control them. As to that, the reported evidence seems amply to support today's decision.
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