Using Truth Serum To Confirm Insanity 308
xclr8r writes "James Holmes representation did not enter a plea today in with regards to the Aurora, Co. Movie theater shooting so the Judge entered a plea of not guilty for James that could be changed at a later date by Holmes' attorney. The judge entered an advisory that if the plea was changed to Not Guilty by insanity that Holmes would be subject to a 'narcoanalytic interview' with the possibility of medically appropriate substances could be used e.g. so called truth serums. Holmes defense looks to have initially objected to this but as the previous article seems to infer that some compromises are being worked out. This certainly raises legal questions on how this is being played out 5th, 14th amendments. The legal expert in the second article states this is legal under Co. law but admits there's not a huge amount of cases regarding this. I was only able to find Harper v State where a defendant willingly underwent truth serum and wanted to submit the interview on his behalf but was rejected due to the judge not recognizing sufficient scientific basis to admit the evidence."
Grammazi (Score:0, Insightful)
"This certainly raises legal questions on how this is being played out 5th, 14th amendments."
How about a little less of the colloquial and a little more grammar?
Scientific basis (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Yet we still don't know what really happened (Score:4, Insightful)
Many people found Hitler to be quite charming in person.
You can't seem to look into any infamous crazy serial killer without comments from shocked neighbors and friends who talk about how normal he seemed.
evidence is there (Score:2, Insightful)
12 dead bodies. Plenty of witnesses. His home is full of weapons.
This fucker is guilty, but the defense is preempting very early to result in an insanity outcome. They're trying to shape the degree of guiltiness. It's extremely hard to get an insanity defense in the US, only because so many people have tried it.
The only testimony they want is to determine if he's genuinely insane or just pretending. Either way, he's going to be locked up in prison or in a mental institution and I bet he's hoping for the latter in order to continue his "Joker" character fantasy.
In English, please (Score:5, Insightful)
James Holmes representation
Sounds like the name of a law firm. I assume what was meant was "James Holmes's representation."
did not enter a plea today in with regards to the Aurora, Co. Movie theater shooting
Whut?
The judge entered an advisory that if the plea was changed to Not Guilty by insanity that Holmes would be subject to a 'narcoanalytic interview'
Too many "that"s.
with the possibility of medically appropriate substances could be used
Either "with the possibility that..." or "...being used."
Holmes defense
"Holmes's defense"
but as the previous article seems to infer that some compromises are being worked out.
This one's hard to parse. Is it "but as the previous article seems to infer, some compromises are being worked out."? Also, which "previous" article? I wouldn't be surprised if you've got "infer" and "imply" mixed up as well, but as I can't work out which article is being referred to, I can't check this.
This certainly raises legal questions on how this is being played out 5th, 14th amendments.
Err, yes, it does. Wait, what?
Slashdot. Unreadable news to annoy nerds.
Re:Yet we still don't know what really happened (Score:5, Insightful)
You can't seem to look into any infamous crazy serial killer without comments from shocked neighbors and friends who talk about how normal he seemed.
I always wonder whether the culprit in some infamous deed was also shocked. Could it be that any of us "normal" types could find ourselves committing an outrage, even though we think we really are the nice quiet boy everyone thinks we are? Or do cold-blooded killers know they are such, and just keep it hidden for years?
Precedent for use on law enforcement and govt? (Score:3, Insightful)
So the next time they find a body lodged underneath a house with 600 bullets in it, we can use this on the police officers involved? "Sorry guys, we were on patrol and found a kid who backtalked us. We chased him and shot him hundreds of times, then planted a weapon on his remains."
Or is this only for use on non-cops, non-government and non-ruling-class?
Re:Think of it this way: (Score:4, Insightful)
There is a generally dysfunctional relation between the electorate and the government it chooses. And if there is no government to effectively rule, other, unelected people will fill in the void. There is only one way out of it: Stop the delight in seeing the government fail. Hold everyone elected responsible for everything that happens in the government and also for everything that doesn't happen. He was elected to do a job, and deliberately failing at it should never be a recommendation for another term. Never cheer for people running on a platform of governmental failings. They are hired by the electorate to do their task in government, and not for putting blame on someone else.
Re:Scientific basis (Score:5, Insightful)
Stop redefining words. Torture is the use of pain and/or harm on another living being. Period. Making someone feel dopey to get information from them may be immoral, but it is absolutely not torture.