CENTENNIAL — Page 52 could be the most damning.
On the top half of the page in James Holmes’ notebook — a copy of which was released to the public Wednesday, one day after passages were read in court during the Aurora theater shooting trial — there is a diagram containing three boxes. One is marked “National guard.” Another is marked “police department.” The third is marked “movies.”
Next to the box marked “movies,” there is a note: “ETA Response.”
Holmes estimated it would take police about 3 minutes to get to the theater.
DOCUMENT: Aurora theater shooting gunman’s 35-page notebook
To Dr. Steven Pitt, a nationally recognized forensic psychiatrist who reviewed the notebook at The Denver Post’s request, such a calculation shows Holmes was aware police would respond to what he was planning because it was wrong.
“Things that he writes about that speak to his appreciation of wrongfulness are very damning for his insanity defense,” said Pitt, who is based in Arizona.
Pitt, who is not connected to the case, said there were several writings in Holmes’ notebook that indicate he had a severe mental illness in the summer of 2012. But entries that detail the planning of the July 20, 2012, attack that killed 12 and wounded 70 others show Holmes appreciated that what he was doing was wrong.
In the notebook, Holmes details areas around the Century Aurora 16 movie theater that had low visibility. He also discusses targets and rules out an airport because of “substantial security, too much of a terrorist history.”
That type of analysis of Holmes’ mental state will continue this week.
District Attorney George Brauchler said he will play all 22 hours of state-appointed psychiatrist Dr. William Reid’s interview with Holmes for the jury. Reid could take the witness stand Thursday.
Holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to all 166 counts against him. Reid was one of two court-appointed doctors to examine Holmes after the shooting.
Holmes could face the death penalty if he is convicted.
LIVE BLOG: Live updates from The Denver Post staff and others inside the courtroom
Both court-ordered exams found that Holmes was sane at the time of the shooting, Brauchler said in opening statements.
Reid will be on the stand while the video is played. The video will be played for the jury in segments and both prosecutors and Holmes’ attorneys will be allowed to ask Reid questions about his interviews with Holmes.
Reid could be on the stand for a full week.
Prosecutors have argued that Holmes patiently built an arsenal of weapons and meticulously planned the shooting. Defense attorneys said Holmes was in the middle of a psychotic spiral when he carried out the attack.
Both sides claim the notebook supports their case.
“I think the advantage goes to the prosecution as it relates to the writings,” Pitt said. “I also think the advantage goes to the defense as it relates to how serious of a mental illness he had and the internal hell he was writing in.”
The judge released the 29 pages to the public Wednesday morning.
On the same page where he writes about falling in love for the first time, Holmes also pens his almost lifelong obsession with killing.
Some pages are filled with diagrams of the theater. Others show what appear to be equations using stick figures and infinity symbols.
Shortly before the shooting, Holmes mailed the notebook July 19, 2012, to Dr. Lynne Fenton, a University of Colorado psychiatrist who had treated him. Investigators found the envelope three days after the shooting in the mail room on the Anschutz Medical Campus.
“We don’t look at information in a vacuum,” Pitt said.
The notebook alone will not make it difficult for Holmes’ attorney to argue that he was legally insane at the time of the shooting. Holmes’ actions, and how they correlate with what he wrote, create the biggest challenge for defense attorneys, Pitt said.
“Take his writings and overlay them to his behavior around the time of the offense,” Pitt said. “You get this intersection that not only did he write about it, but he acted on it.”
Chief Deputy District Attorney Karen Pearson pointed to writings in the notebook that showed how Holmes decided on committing a mass murder. The passages detail how he chose a movie theater and then scouted different theaters in the complex.
Holmes writes: “Finally, the last escape, mass murder at the movies.”
But defense attorney Dan King drew out passages with rambling and even incoherent sentences. Holmes describes concerns he has with his “dripping nose.” He writes musings about the meaning of life and death.
“If people are ultimately good or evil in value, then one may suffer from injustice,” Holmes writes at one point. “If life has no value,
“— All is just
“— Life and death are not demarcated.
“— Any and all actions have no impact on anything.”
WATCH: Reporter John Ingold discusses Day 19 of the Aurora theater shooting trial
Dr. Park Dietz, a well-known, California-based forensic psychiatrist who supports the effort to limit use of killers’ names and photos, also reviewed the notebook after it was released. Dietz is not connected to the case.
“There is a risk that the notebook will cause a small fraction of readers to further identify with Holmes and to move closer to taking similar actions,” Dietz said. “That would be true even if it did not have detailed technical plans.”
The notebook is useful for experts working to determine whether Holmes was insane at the time of the attack, but Dietz warned that the public should not try to pull any conclusions from it.
Court-ordered evaluations, such as the two Holmes underwent, are meant to provide an independent evaluation of the defendant’s mental state.
Both court-appointed psychiatrists who evaluated Holmes found that he was sane at the time of the shooting. But Holmes’ attorneys told the jury during opening statements that a defense expert diagnosed Holmes with a type of schizophrenia.
One study found that in more than 90 percent of insanity cases, juries side with the independent evaluation’s findings.
Jordan Steffen: 303-954-1794, jsteffen@denverpost.com or twitter.com/jsteffendp