Aurora shooting suspect James Holmes declared mentally ill

Aurora shooting suspect James Holmes, who killed 12 people and injured 58 others, has been declared mentally ill by his attorneys.

James Eagan Holmes's actions are now being blamed on his unstable mental condition and his lawyers are trying to free him from the mess that he has landed himself in. A hearing took place in Centennial, Colo., in which Holmes' lawyers said that their client is mentally ill. Holmes is the person who opened fire at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., where the new Batman movie was being screened. He just barged into the theater and opened fire and killed anyone that he could see. He was dressed like a character from the movie and arrested a few blocks away from the scene of the shooting.

The disclosure about James Holmes' mental condition was made at a hearing where representatives from news organizations were also present and were pressing the judge to unseal the documents relating to the July 20 shooting at the Aurora theater. So far all the documents relating to James Holmes have been kept confidential and even the lawyers from both sides have been placed under a gag order.

This is being done to provide a fair trial to James Holmes, against whom there is already too much resentment. However, now the media agencies are pushing the judge to lift this order and release the documents related to this case, as the public needs to know what is going on.

18th Judicial District Chief Judge William Sylvester has ordered the documents to be sealed with just a few exceptions allowed. An 85-page motion was filed on Thursday, arguing that the public had "an obvious and legitimate interest" in the proceedings of this case. "This status quo violates the public’s constitutional right of access to the records of criminal prosecutions and undermines our nation’s firm commitment to the transparency and public accountability of the criminal justice system," the document argues, according to a report by msnbc.com.

It was being speculated right from the beginning that James Holmes's lawyers will use the insanity appeal for him as they had hinted at that. Even at the University of Colorado, where Holmes was a neuroscience student, he had sought help from a psychiatrist, Lynne Fenton, who will likely be a witness at the hearings in the future.