Judge extends time for mental exam
Colorado shooting suspect in court
CENTENNIAL, Colo. — A judge overseeing the Colorado theater shooting case agreed Tuesday to give the state mental hospital until mid-September to examine James Holmes.
Judge Carlos Samour Jr. had given the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo until the end of July, but the psychiatrist who will interview Holmes wants to review the 40,000 pages of evidence in the case.
“I don’t think I have a whole lot of choice,” Samour said of the extension.
Despite the delay, Holmes is still scheduled to go on trial in February. The trial can’t start until the sanity evaluation is completed and weeks of mo- tions hearings are held.
Holmes pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to killing 12 people and injuring 70 others July 20 during a midnight show at an Aurora movie theater.
On Tuesday, Holmes’ formerly bushy beard was down to a slight shadow on his chin and his hair appeared combed.
He smiled when a member of his defense team spoke in his ear.
A handful of shooting victims attended Tuesday’s hearing, including Josh Nowlan, who was shot in the leg and arm. His presence was intended to send a message to Holmes.
“You don’t scare me and I will move past this, and what you’ve done to me will never be forgotten, but you will never beat me,” Nowlan said.
During Tuesday’s hearing, prosecutors and defense attorneys objected to turning over a notebook Holmes sent to a psychiatrist to attorneys for Fox News reporter Jana Winter.
Winter is fighting demands from defense attorneys to reveal the source of her report that the notebook included violent drawings. Holmes’ lawyers contend that whoever told her that violated a gag order.
Last week, Winter’s lawyers said in court documents that they should be allowed to inspect the notebook so they can argue about how significant its contents might be at trial.
Prosecutor Rich Orman told Samour that turning it over to her lawyers would effectively be turning the evidence over to the news media.