James Holmes' Sister Wrote Song About Death Row Before Shootings
CENTENNIAL, Colo. (CBS4) - Aurora theater shooting suspect James Holmes was back in court on Monday and there was a new family member there offering her support.
Thousands of prospective jurors will be considered in the case and on Monday lawyers argued over evidence involving dating websites.
Holmes' younger sister, Chris Holmes, sat in front of CBS4's Rick Sallinger in court. She is a singer and songwriter who wrote a song that has a very strong connection to the case. Years before the shooting she wrote a song called "Walking Down Death Row."
The song's lyrics say, "I'm praying to God, 'Please save my soul.' " Now it's her older brother who faces the possibility of going to death row -- but not before a trial.
In court the judge said 6,000 prospective jurors would be called in hopes of selecting 24 -- a dozen jurors and 12 alternatives. CBS4 Legal Analyst Karen Steinhauser said selecting a jury will take a lot of time.
"There are issues with regard to people who may have friends or relatives who were involved in the shooting, who may be witnesses in the case," Steinhauser said.
Once there is a trial prosecutors in the case want two dating websites admitted into evidence. One is from Match.com where Holmes wrote, "Will you visit me in prison?" The other website was from AdultFriendFinder.com.
"What the prosecution is going to be arguing, is again, that shows a consciousness with regard to intent, with regard to deliberation, and particularly with regard to the issue of the defendant knowing right from wrong," Steinhauser said.
But Holmes' lawyers argued the Web pages under the name "Classic Jim" should not be allowed for a jury to see because the information about the accounts was obtained improperly from his phone and website providers.
Also among those in the court were Holmes' parents who looked intently at their son.
The matter about the websites will be decided by the judge later. They will be back in court again on Thursday.
