CENTENNIAL, Colo. 鈥� The Aurora theater shooting trial is now expected to end three weeks earlier than originally planned.
Prosecutor George Brauchler, who initially requested two months to present his case, told the court Friday he expects to finish as early as June 19. Public defender Dan King said the defense will need less than two weeks.听Several witnesses he intended to call have already appeared in court.
The court did not discuss the sentencing phase of the trial, which is expected to last to a month.
Brauchler and King appeared more rivalrous Friday than they have throughout the trial. At the start of the day, the defense told the judge that Brauchler had sent a tweet during Thursday鈥檚 proceedings. Defense attorney Tamara Brady said it was irresponsible given the seriousness of the case.
鈥淚f the prosecution is seeking the execution of a man, perhaps the district attorney should pay attention to the cross examination of the mental health experts,鈥� Brady said.
Brauchler apologized to King, and Judge Carlos Samour Jr. ruled that no attorneys from either side should be texting or using social media while court is in session.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e bored and don鈥檛 want to pay attention to the proceedings鈥� he told them, 鈥淵ou can leave.鈥�
King later made a jab at Brauchler about the incident. After whispering to an aide without realizing his microphone was on, he remarked, 鈥淢aybe I should just text it out.鈥�
Brauchler joked, 鈥淚 just Dan King-ed it,鈥� when he later did the same thing.
Cross, redirect, recross
Psychiatrist William Reid remained on the witness stand all day Friday, undergoing cross-examination from Dan King, redirection from George Brauchler, and then recross from King.听 Jurors had several questions for Reid at the end of the day, and both attorneys had follow-up questions after he answered the jury鈥檚 questions.
King cross-examined Reid in an attempt to prove Holmes was insane at the time of the crime. Through Reid, he reminded the jury that schizophrenia is a genetic disease, and Holmes鈥� aunt Betty (father鈥檚 fraternal twin) and grandfathers were all hospitalized for psychiatric illnesses.
Reid admitted that Holmes鈥� 鈥渉uman capital鈥� theory could have been a delusion, and said he had no doubt Holmes was psychotic when he heard voices, saw shadows and smeared feces all over his cell while in prison. King replayed the video clip in which Holmes tells Reid he felt compelled to carry out his attack. It 鈥渢ook hold鈥� of his mind, he said.
During redirection, Brauchler reminded Reid of a statement he had made previously: 鈥淏ut for this mental illness, the crime wouldn鈥檛 have been committed.鈥� Under questioning, Reid agreed that his statement doesn鈥檛 mean mental illness had caused the crime.
Further supporting the prosecution, Reid said that people with schizophrenia tend to be victims of violence more often than perpetrators, and that Holmes did not suffer from disorganized thinking during his last visit with Dr. Fenton.
Brauchler notably asked, 鈥淐an you circle a date on the calendar and say 鈥楾his is when I鈥檓 having my psychotic break鈥�?鈥�
鈥淣o,鈥� Reid answered.
Reid said he was 鈥渆xtremely confident鈥� that the defendant had the capacity to know right from wrong at the time of the shooting and acted with intent. The defendant, he said, was legally sane.
During his recross, King tried to show Holmes was actually not sane, citing more of Holmes鈥� erratic prison behavior. Months after being arrested, he said, the defendant developed paranoia about food and water and refused to eat or drink 鈥� a possible cause of his later delirium. They then discussed a different psychiatrist who, upon evaluating Holmes, reported more symptoms like auditory hallucinations and his seeing shadows.
Jurors demonstrated their engagement with the trial by submitting more several questions for Dr. Reid. It was 6 p.m. by the time the jurors, defense and prosecution all had their questions answered.
Trial will resume at 8:40 a.m. Monday with the introduction of witness Dr. Jeffrey Metzner, another psychiatrist who evaluated Holmes.
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Editors note: CU News Corps will honor the victims of this tragedy with every post via this graphic.听
