Separating intelligence, mental illness, insanity in Aurora theater trial
CENTENNIAL, Colo. — The Aurora theater shooter has an IQ score of 123, which ranks him in the category dubbed “superior intelligence”.
Attorneys prosecuting the shooter, James Holmes, have brought this to the jury’s attention on multiple occasions, this week included. But what does this mean to the jury who must decide whether the defendant was legally insane at the time he gunned down an Aurora movie theater, killing 12 and injuring 70 people?
While a score of 123 is well above the average American’s IQ score, it’s still 22 points shy of genius ranking. President George W. Bush has a rumored IQ score of 125, and filmmaker Quentin Tarantino boasts an IQ of 160 — the same as scientist Stephen Hawking,
Researchers around the world have performed studies in effort to reveal concrete linkage between intelligence and mental illness. that people with schizophrenia were more likely to have the version of one highly-studied gene, DARPP-32, which boosts performance on tasks involving thinking and filtering of information.
The prosecution must prove that, despite his above-average intellect, the shooter still knew that what he was doing was wrong in the eyes of society at the time of the murderous event.
On Wednesday, the court viewed the defendant’s behavior in the hours following his arrest in police video surveillance footage. In the video, the shooter responded appropriately and clearly to questions, and he provided the accurate names, phone number and home address of his parents. The gunman also told police that he had recently taken 100mg of Vicodin.
“How long ago?” an officer asked.
“Seven hours ago. Around 10 p.m.,” the shooter said.
The gunman took the narcotic pain reliever two hours before the shootings, and hours after he mailed a notebook filled with his detailed killing plans and philosophical writings to his former University of Colorado psychiatrist, Dr. Lynne Fenton.
Holmes named the psychiatrist his emergency contact and told police they could find her phone number “on the internet”.
Ultimately, the jury will have to decide if the defendant is legally sane, regardless of allegedly suffering from mental illness or having an above-average IQ.
Editor’s note: CU News Corps will honor the victims of this tragedy with every post via this graphic.