Colo. suspect impressed Illinois neuroscience program
DENVER (AP) - The Colorado theater shooting suspect left a good impression on people he met in his pursuit of a neuroscience career, with a reference describing him as having a "great amount of intellectual and emotional maturity."
That account came in a recommendation letter sent to the University of Illinois' neuroscience program as part of James Holmes' application to the school last year. The names of those who wrote the letter were blacked out.
The letter and all of the university's documents related to Holmes were provided to The Associated Press on Friday after an open records request. The News-Gazette in Champaign, Ill., first obtained the documents.
Holmes declined to attend the highly selective program, and instead attended the University of Colorado, Denver, studying neuroscience until he dropped out in June. He gave no reason for declining the Illinois offer, and no reason for dropping out in Colorado.
University of Colorado officials have declined to release Holmes' records, citing a Colorado judge's gag order that does not apply to other states.
Holmes is accused of killing 12 people and wounding 58 in the attack during a midnight showing of the new Batman movie. Holmes attorneys say that he is mentally ill.
Letters, his resume and a personal statement written by Holmes paint a picture a bright student who was committed to pursuing a career as cognitive neuroscientist.
"Researching learning and memory interests me because these are the very cognitive processes which enable us to acquire information and retain it," he wrote in his personal statement. "They are at the core of what distinguishes us as people."
In recommendation letters, Holmes is described as being in the top 1 percent of his honors classes with a cumulative grade point average of 3.949.
"He takes an active role in his education, and brings a great amount of intellectual and emotional maturity into the classroom," one recommendation letter reads. "James received excellent evaluations from the professors and graduate students with whom he worked and was mentored."
Another letter describes him as "a very effective group leader" on assignments.
That description is a stark contrast to his demeanor in court, where he seems dazed, looking straight ahead and avoiding eye contact with those sitting in the courtroom.
As part of his application, Holmes submitted a picture of himself standing next to a llama. It's unclear whether he submitted the photo as a way to make his application stand out, but it seemed to work.
Samuel Beshers, neuroscience program coordinator, referred to Holmes as "llama" in emails. Beshers did not return a message left at the school.
"Your personal and professional qualities are truly outstanding," and "you will be an excellent match for our program," read the letter accepting Holmes into the program after the school paid his travel expenses for a visit.
At least two researchers were vying for Holmes to join their laboratories, and the school offered him a stipend $22,600 per year and free tuition.
Holmes sent an email to the school declining their offer.
"My apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused," he wrote. "Best wishes in your candidate search."
That account came in a recommendation letter sent to the University of Illinois' neuroscience program as part of James Holmes' application to the school last year. The names of those who wrote the letter were blacked out.
The letter and all of the university's documents related to Holmes were provided to The Associated Press on Friday after an open records request. The News-Gazette in Champaign, Ill., first obtained the documents.
Holmes declined to attend the highly selective program, and instead attended the University of Colorado, Denver, studying neuroscience until he dropped out in June. He gave no reason for declining the Illinois offer, and no reason for dropping out in Colorado.
University of Colorado officials have declined to release Holmes' records, citing a Colorado judge's gag order that does not apply to other states.
Holmes is accused of killing 12 people and wounding 58 in the attack during a midnight showing of the new Batman movie. Holmes attorneys say that he is mentally ill.
Letters, his resume and a personal statement written by Holmes paint a picture a bright student who was committed to pursuing a career as cognitive neuroscientist.
"Researching learning and memory interests me because these are the very cognitive processes which enable us to acquire information and retain it," he wrote in his personal statement. "They are at the core of what distinguishes us as people."
In recommendation letters, Holmes is described as being in the top 1 percent of his honors classes with a cumulative grade point average of 3.949.
"He takes an active role in his education, and brings a great amount of intellectual and emotional maturity into the classroom," one recommendation letter reads. "James received excellent evaluations from the professors and graduate students with whom he worked and was mentored."
Another letter describes him as "a very effective group leader" on assignments.
That description is a stark contrast to his demeanor in court, where he seems dazed, looking straight ahead and avoiding eye contact with those sitting in the courtroom.
As part of his application, Holmes submitted a picture of himself standing next to a llama. It's unclear whether he submitted the photo as a way to make his application stand out, but it seemed to work.
Samuel Beshers, neuroscience program coordinator, referred to Holmes as "llama" in emails. Beshers did not return a message left at the school.
"Your personal and professional qualities are truly outstanding," and "you will be an excellent match for our program," read the letter accepting Holmes into the program after the school paid his travel expenses for a visit.
At least two researchers were vying for Holmes to join their laboratories, and the school offered him a stipend $22,600 per year and free tuition.
Holmes sent an email to the school declining their offer.
"My apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused," he wrote. "Best wishes in your candidate search."
Just put a bullet into his head and be done with it. Â Oh wait, we believe that hugs and kisses will cure him.........
Can we stop glorifying this kid now? He's a mass murderer. Who gives an eff what his school or anyone else thinks?
Sometimes I don't think it would be hard to impress these neuroscience people. Â There are a lot of fruitcakes in these deptsÂ
Slate has an interesting article about this that is some good food for thought:
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/crime/2012/08/aurora_shooting_how_to_prevent_men_like_james_holmes_from_striking_again.html
Of course he is nuttier than a fruitcake. But he was sane enough to make elaborate plans and carry them out.Â
He needs to be put down. I have no pity for him, no matter what his "problem" is.
Â
Not substantiating this guy's actions. But I see from the comments, that people continue to think that insanity means stupid. "He's smart, no way he's insane!" Hint: insanity has zero to do with intellect. If the dude is schizo, then he's schizo. Period. Doesn't have anything to do with his level of reason or his GPA. These types of comments show a continuing stigma of people getting help for mental illness and development of preventative programs for it. People wait until someone goes berserk like this guy and then wonder why he did it. He was seeking professional help and his psychiatrist even said he was possibly dangerous. Then he sent a detailed plan to the doctor that sat in the mail room for how long? Too many people are walking around out there with serious issues and no one does anything about it, then they're pondering, "What in the world happened?!"Â Preventing it is what happened. And "crazy" people is not synonymous with "dumb", which most people who choose to be uneducated choose to label them continue to believe.
 @jelisized "He was seeking professional help and his psychiatrist even said he was possibly dangerous."
Â
That is a avenue that I hope will be evaluated further. Was the psychiatrist negligent in notifying authorities about Holmes? Was this like the Loughner case, where the local sheriff ignored many warning signs? Does the law on involuntary commitment need to be reconsidered here? Is the psychiatrist criminally liable?
 @LockesChild From everything I read, the psychiatrist did what she was supposed to.  The ball was dropped after.
Violence is despicable and the level of violence committed by this POS is simply evil. Academic culture and the judgement of academic culture is right out of the Middle Ages and means nothing here. He's putting on an act in court.Â
 @Citizen#3457899654 Was he putting on an act when he sought and was treated for his mental medical help and sent a detailed plan of his actions? Not defending his actions, but I'm wondering if you considered those variables in your argument because I don't see them addressed with regard to what you say about the reported behavior in the courtroom?
"great amount of intellectual and emotional maturity."
Â
cool, that makes him eligible to burn at the stake, right?
Okay, so he's nuts. Now put him in the hot seat and cure him.
I have read that schizophrenia has a typical onset in the late teenage / early adult years. I don't believe it can be accurately predicted and once it starts up there is just really no permanent fix. No credible person would ever suggest that this person could be rehabilitated. So, the only options are life in prison or the death penalty. Me, I'd rather be dead than spend a life in prison. Personally, I don't see the point of keeping a person in prison until the day they die, execution seems more humane to me but I understand that might actually cost more. We should do whatever is cheapest.Â
 @kennewickman I'm not quite as convinced, at the same time, I have absolutely no argument against what you've said.
Don't care. This guy never sees freedom again. Period.
I think this guy's lawyers are going to have a hard time getting him off on the "insanity" angle now. Sounds like this dude is VERY smart, and diabolical. Now...... try him and fry him.
 @LoudNoises Is there an IQ test for insane?
@jelisized @LoudNoises Yeah its called the Charles Manson, or Gary Ridgway test. Most of these extreme killers are actually very smart.Â
 @Kodiak  @jelisized  @LoudNoises Ridgway's IQ is in the low 80's, mostly reported as 82. Manson was tested at 109, slightly above average. This in turn actually goes against your argument. LIke I wrote, our current disturbed person can have an IQ of 190 and still be insane. Intelligence has zero to do with sanity.