The Aurora Death Penalty, Gun Control and Piers Morgan

Welcome back, dear readers. Today, I want to discuss the Aurora, Colorado, cinema killings. The prosecution has refused the defense's offer to plead guilty if the death penalty were taken off the table. In the more than 30 years since Colorado has re-instated the death penalty, only one person has been executed, in 1997, after being found guilty of rape and murder. But proseutors said that for James Holmes, "justice is death," in announcing they will seek his execution if he is convicted in the Colorado movie theater attack that killed 12 people and wounded 58. The decision has elevated the already sensational case to a new level and it could drag on for years. District Attorney George Brauchler added that he had discussed the case with 60 people who lost relatives in the July 20 shooting rampage by a gunman in a gas mask and body armor during a midnight showing of the latest Batman movie. The decision by the prosecution was predicted by a great majority of legal experts. New presiding Judge Carlos Santour, Jr., rescheduled the trial from August to next February, to allow time for the legal preparation required for a case involving a possible death penalty. The case could take years because of the normally lengthy death penalty case appeals. Original presiding Judge William B. Sylvester excused himself from the case after the prosecution said it would demand the death penalty, saying he did not have the years that would be required in such a long case. Holmes' lawyers have indicated in court papers that they may instead pursue a defense of not guilty by reason of insanity. But that could pose a risk because prosecutors may argue that Holmes was methodical in planning his attack, casing the theater, stockpiling weapons and booby-trapping his apartment with explosives. Judge Santour warned the defense lawyers that if they want to change Holmes' plea, the longer they wait the harder it will be to convince him to accept it. If Holmes is found incompetent to stand trial by reason of insanity, he would be remitted to a mental hospital, then returned to prison after treatment. The Aurora massacre led to the swift passage of gun control legislation in Colorado, where newly elected Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper signed landmark gun laws last week that expand background checks on gun purchases and limit the size of ammunition magazines, placing the traditionally firearm-friendly state among the handful to pass new restrictions in the wake of the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. The Colorado legislature was heavily lobbied by Vice President Biden and other Washington Democrats hoping to use Colorado as a model of the gun control legislation President Obama is seeking. The President is scheduled to visit Denver on Wednesday to highlight the legislation as part of his push for more gun control, but voters are already talking about making Hickenlooper a one-term governor and electing a governor who will undo the new gun control law. Some of those who lost loved ones were happy with the prosecutors' decision to seek the death penalty. A man whose best friend was killed in the attack said, "I love the choice. I love it, I love it," adding, "I hope I'm in the room when he dies." ~~~~~ Dear readers, I am personally opposed to capital punishment, and I cannot imagine being happy about the prospect of any human being's execution, but I can appreciate that others, and especially families and loved ones of those killed in Aurora, feel that death is the just punishment for such a horrific crime. BUT, there is one person whose attitude I cannot condone. That person is CNN talk show host Piers Morgan, who has already become a pariah to many Americans because of his harping and bullying opposition to America's support of the Constitution's Second Amendment right to bear arms. Last night he actually taunted some of his regular guests who support the Second Amendment right to bear arms by suggesting that if they do not want the death penalty in the Holmes case, they are being inconsistent. I seldom watch Piers Morgan because I find him callously cynical and impolite in baiting guests who disagree with him. But his calculated effort to antagonize Americans who are wrestling with two extremely difficult legal and moral questions is despicable.