Ahmad Alissa, the gunman who fatally shot 10 people at a grocery store in Colorado in 2021, has been found guilty of murder and could face life in prison after a jury rejected the defence’s argument that he should be found not guilty by reason of insanity. The defence had claimed that Alissa, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, could not distinguish the meaning of his actions when he carried out the attack. However, prosecutors argued that Alissa’s methodical and brutal actions showed he was intentional in his actions.
The trial, which began earlier this month, saw harrowing testimonies from survivors of the attack, including an emergency room doctor who hid among bags of potato chips and a pharmacist who heard Alissa say, “This is fun” as he fired a semi-automatic pistol resembling an AR-15 rifle. State forensic psychologists concluded that Alissa’s mental illness likely played a role in the attack, but Colorado law defines insanity as being unable to tell right from wrong due to a severe mental disease.
Alissa’s family reported that he had become increasingly paranoid, heard voices, and had not received mental health treatment prior to the attack. Despite claiming to have heard “killing voices”, Alissa did not provide further details to psychologists. The prosecutors pointed to the illegal magazines and bullets he carried as evidence of deliberate intent, and Alissa’s fear of being arrested or killed by the police as proof of his sanity during the attack. The verdict on the case highlights the tragic consequences of a man suffering from severe mental illness and the complexities of legal definitions when it comes to mental health and criminal responsibility.
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