Shooting At Aurora, Colorado Movie Theater (1 Viewer)

[Sebowski]

Thought this was a great story. Some might think its an amazing coincidence. I don't believe in coincidences.

 

[Sebowski]

Thought this was a great story. Some might think its an amazing coincidence. I don't believe in coincidences.

snip

.

That's great. I'm sure the paralyzed mother of the 6-year-old who died is cool with not being God's Chosen Survivor. If you're looking for a miracle or a sign of God's existence in this thing, all this would show is that God is an arbitrary jerk. She got lucky. A lot of others did not.

 

[Fennis]

For you guys speculating on what his thought process was in court, watch Nancy Grace tonight. She'll give you the lowdown if she has 'the ugly one' on the show.

what does tot mom think of this?

 

[pantagrapher]

For you guys speculating on what his thought process was in court, watch Nancy Grace tonight. She'll give you the lowdown if she has 'the ugly one' on the show.

The only way I'd watch Nancy Grace is if she were on trial.

 

[Eephus]

For you guys speculating on what his thought process was in court, watch Nancy Grace tonight. She'll give you the lowdown if she has 'the ugly one' on the show.

The only way I'd watch Nancy Grace is if she were on trial fire.

Fixed

 

[The Goat]

For you guys speculating on what his thought process was in court, watch Nancy Grace tonight. She'll give you the lowdown if she has 'the ugly one' on the show.

The only way I'd watch Nancy Grace is if she were on trial fire.

Fixed

Son of a #####. I was going to do this exact same thing.

 

[bakes]

Forget the death penalty - this joker deserves a more creative fate.

Should have left the apartment armed and ready. Give him one week to talk. Otherwise, he gets blindfolded, spun around five times, and then has to enter the apartment and walk to the other side of the room and back. Hell, make it pay per view with the proceeds going to the families of the victims.

 

[Rohn Jambo]

Thought this was a great story. Some might think its an amazing coincidence. I don't believe in coincidences.

What's so funny?

 

[17seconds]

Thought this was a great story. Some might think its an amazing coincidence. I don't believe in coincidences.

A Miracle Inside the Aurora Shooting: One Victim's Story

At Columbine, I have seen this before. But not up close. As a church pastor in Denver, I have worked as a chaplain with several police and fire departments. I was privileged to counsel parents just hours after the Littleton Columbine shootings. However, in this new tragedy at the Aurora Theater Dark Night shooting, one of the victims was a 22 year old woman from my church, Petra Anderson (pronounced Pay-tra). Petra went to the movies with two young friends who are biking across America. You and I have been inundated with news about what happened next. A joyful movie turned into bloody, unbelievable chaos. Petra was hit four times with a shot-gun blast, three shots into her arm and one bullet which entered her brain. This a bit of Petra's miracle story.

With awesome people from our caring and pastoral team, I spent all day Friday in the ICU with Petra and her family. Her injuries were severe, and her condition was critical. A bullet had entered Petra's face through her nose, and then traveled up through her brain until stopping at the back of her skull. The doctors prior to surgery were concerned, because so much of the brain had been traversed by the bullet. Many areas of brain function were involved. They were hoping to keep her alive long enough to get her into surgery. The prognosis was uncertain—if she lived, Petra might struggle with speech, movement, and thinking due to considerable brain damage. With Kim, Petra's mother (who is in the final stages of terminal cancer), we simply cried, hugged, and prayed.

It is pressed into my memory now. Motion and emotion…

Other families come and go into the ICU waiting room. Some sit with us, and we talk. Others are visited by doctors with "Family Advocates" in tow. The families listen, sob, and then are moved like stunned cattle to a more private space to grieve. We pray. Petra is finally taken into surgery, using two different surgical teams. One team of neurosurgeons will open up the back of her skull to remove the bullet and clean up brain damage as best they can. Another ENT-specialty surgical team will then work through Petra's nose by scope to follow the bullet's path up into her brain. Their hope is to remove bone fragments, clean up damaged brain tissue, and reseal her brain to reduce infection.

If you have lived any of your days in a hospital waiting room, you know how long the enduring process is. It has a woeful pattern to it. Sit. Walk. Grab a drink. Sit. Walk. Answer a phone call. Sit. Walk. Hug someone. Sit. Talk to the FBI. Sit. Pick at the food. Sit. Walk. Go down the hall, but not too far because you're afraid to miss something. Back. Hug. Pray. Sit. Sit. A picture of a five year old waiting for next Christmas from January 1st comes to my mind. FOREVER. Only this feels worse: a heavy forever, with no promise of presents, Santa, or good news at the end.

After the waiting drags for over five hours, tired doctors and nurses spill back into the room, one or two at a time. I look for "Family Advocates" but can find none. I exhale. The doctors update us: "It went well, and she's recovering now. We found very little damage to the brain, and got the bullet out cleanly. It went better than we hoped for." Each brings a warrior's smile, and a bit of information—information that we turn into hope as we regurgitate it over the next hours. Still, the medical team remains professional and reserved, "Something might still go wrong. We just need to wait and see if she makes it for the next 48 hours."

Tears and thank you's abound. We are so thankful for these men and women. We hug. Everyone hugs. Then, round two. Sit. Wait. Pray. Fully dressed people cuddle into small snails and try to sleep on the floor. Some are shuttled to a room donated by the Holiday Inn across the street. Thank you, Lord, for every little thing. We sit. We pray. "We'll understand better tomorrow."

Petra is moved back to ICU. She looks, surprisingly, wonderful. With a small hole in her nose, and her arm wrapped, she almost looks uninjured. She is medicated and sleeping when I come to visit her on Saturday. I sit, talk, and pray quietly with Kim amid the darkened room, lit by glowing medical screens and power switches. Nurses, like quiet soldiers posted on guard, come in, march attentively through the machines, and go out. These men and women really care. Finally, one of the surgeons comes in to check on Petra. He has had some sleep, and looks more like a movie star this time. As Petra sleeps, he retells the story of the surgery, and we ask questions. The doctor reads the perfect script, as if he is on Hallmark Hall of Fame. He fills us in on the miracle. Honestly, he doesn't call it that, he just uses words like "happily" and "wonderfully" and "in a very fortunate way" and "luckily" and "we were really surprised by that." Kim and I know a miracle when we see it.

It seems as if the bullet traveled through Petra's brain without hitting any significant brain areas. The doctor explains that Petra's brain has had from birth a small "defect" in it. It is a tiny channel of fluid running through her skull, like a tiny vein through marble, or a small hole in an oak board, winding from front to rear. Only a CAT scan would catch it, and Petra would have never noticed it.

But in Petra's case, the shotgun buck shot, maybe even the size used for deer hunting, enters her brain from the exact point of this defect. Like a marble through a small tube, the defect channels the bullet from Petra's nose through her brain. It turns slightly several times, and comes to rest at the rear of her brain. And in the process, the bullet misses all the vital areas of the brain. In many ways, it almost misses the brain itself. Like a giant BB though a straw created in Petra's brain before she was born, it follows the route of the defect. It is channeled in the least harmful way. A millimeter in any direction and the channel is missed. The brain is destroyed. Evil wins a round.

As he shares, the doctor seems taken aback. It is an odd thing to have a surgeon show a bit of wonder. Professionally, these guys own the universe, it seems, and take everything in stride. He is obviously gifted as a surgeon, and is kind in his manner. "It couldn't have gone better. If it were my daughter," he says quietly, glancing around to see if any of his colleagues might be watching him, "I'd be ecstatic. I'd be dancing a jig." He smiles. I can't keep my smile back, or the tears of joy. In Christianity we call it prevenient grace: God working ahead of time for a particular event in the future. It's just like the God I follow to plan the route of a bullet through a brain long before Batman ever rises. Twenty-two years before.

While we're talking, Petra awakes. She opens her eyes, and sits up, "Mom." Movie-star doctor spins to grab her, to protect her from falling. The nurse assures him she's been doing this for a while. He talks to her, and she talks back. He asks questions, and Petra has the right answers. "Where do you hurt, Petra?" "All over." Amazed, but professional, he smiles and leaves the set shaking his head. I am so thankful for this man.

Petra is groggy and beat up, but she is herself. Honestly, I look worse before my morning coffee. "I'm thirsty," she proclaims.

"You want an ice cube, honey?" Kim replies.

"Please." Wow. She lays down, back to sleep, a living miracle who doesn't even know it yet. Good flowering out of the refuse pile of a truly dark night. "Thank you, Jesus," I whisper.

Petra, you are amazing. Kim, you, too, are amazing. I am so proud of you both. But God, you are in a league of your own. (Duh.)

There is much ahead. More surgerys. Facial reconstruction, perhaps. And for Kim, chemo therapy to stretch every moment out of life. But life remains.The ending is yet to be written for this family

.

wow thats wild.

Now that's a miracle.

Glad the person is alive, and may well be alive because of the defect. But the story (especially the bolded) wreaks of hyperbole. Sorry.

 

[Rohn Jambo]

CNN.com feed keeps freezing. He has a bit of a "Holy crap, what did I do?" look.

I thought he was "trying" to look crazy. Could also be that he's cycling off anti-depressants right now

His crazy/tired/stoned thing looks like a complete "act" to me.

My take as an armchair psychiatrist is that this is how most insanity defenses get undermined: defendant acts too crazy. Truly insane people don't know they're insane*.*Possibly not completely and totally clinically true.

I haven't seen the video yet but I placed my bet yesterday that he is not crazy. I'd love to be the psychoanalyst who gets to prove this. He is lucky I don't have a degree in the field.

 

[17seconds]

CNN currently analyzing his courtroom fakery. Waterboard the biotch.

The booby trapped apartment makes me believe more in the courtroom fakery. Have the feeling he planned the aftermath as much as the attack.

 

[Rohn Jambo]

CNN currently analyzing his courtroom fakery. Waterboard the biotch.

The booby trapped apartment makes me believe more in the courtroom fakery. Have the feeling he planned the aftermath as much as the attack.

I just watched the court video. It just looks like he was trying to not fall asleep after staying up all night.

 

[wikkidpissah]

CNN currently analyzing his courtroom fakery. Waterboard the biotch.

The booby trapped apartment makes me believe more in the courtroom fakery. Have the feeling he planned the aftermath as much as the attack.

I just watched the court video. It just looks like he was trying to not fall asleep after staying up all night.

Not saying it was the case here, but i was an intake (admitting) specialist when i was in the psych biz and the indicted betrayed all the hallmarks of someone trying to fake schiz. There are plenty of rapid & dramatic eye movements with dementia praecox, but the brow rarely comes along for the ride. This Joker was workin more brow than Anthony Davis.

 

[GoBirds]

CNN currently analyzing his courtroom fakery. Waterboard the biotch.

Thats what should happen but our country is too soft. They should torture the hell out of idiots like this clown. Death penalty or life in prison are easy ways out, if people like this knew they were in for years of torture I bet they think twice.

 

[Fennis]

CNN currently analyzing his courtroom fakery. Waterboard the biotch.

Thats what should happen but our country is too soft. They should torture the hell out of idiots like this clown. Death penalty or life in prison are easy ways out, if people like this knew they were in for years of torture I bet they think twice.

sharia law baby!

 

[Plorfu]

CNN currently analyzing his courtroom fakery. Waterboard the biotch.

Thats what should happen but our country is too soft. They should torture the hell out of idiots like this clown. Death penalty or life in prison are easy ways out, if people like this knew they were in for years of torture I bet they think twice.

Yes. When a sociopath is carefully planning a mass murder, he might suddenly stop and think "Wait, I might not like the consequences. A previous mass murderer got waterboarded. I don't think I'd care for that much. I shall cease all insane murderous activities and go back to school. Maybe buy a kitten. I'll name it Pounces." Because that's how their brains work.

 

[Rohn Jambo]

CNN currently analyzing his courtroom fakery. Waterboard the biotch.

The booby trapped apartment makes me believe more in the courtroom fakery. Have the feeling he planned the aftermath as much as the attack.

I just watched the court video. It just looks like he was trying to not fall asleep after staying up all night.

Not saying it was the case here, but i was an intake (admitting) specialist when i was in the psych biz and the indicted betrayed all the hallmarks of someone trying to fake schiz. There are plenty of rapid & dramatic eye movements with dementia praecox, but the brow rarely comes along for the ride. This Joker was workin more brow than Anthony Davis.

The Joker has green hair, not orange hair.

 

[Claydon]

CNN currently analyzing his courtroom fakery. Waterboard the biotch.

Thats what should happen but our country is too soft. They should torture the hell out of idiots like this clown. Death penalty or life in prison are easy ways out, if people like this knew they were in for years of torture I bet they think twice.

What needs to happen is a swift trial followed by a swift death.

 

[drummer]

CNN currently analyzing his courtroom fakery. Waterboard the biotch.

The booby trapped apartment makes me believe more in the courtroom fakery. Have the feeling he planned the aftermath as much as the attack.

I just watched the court video. It just looks like he was trying to not fall asleep after staying up all night.

Not saying it was the case here, but i was an intake (admitting) specialist when i was in the psych biz and the indicted betrayed all the hallmarks of someone trying to fake schiz. There are plenty of rapid & dramatic eye movements with dementia praecox, but the brow rarely comes along for the ride. This Joker was workin more brow than Anthony Davis.

The Joker has green hair, not orange hair.

The world's coming to an end, I don't even care..Dun-a-dun dun-a-dun dun-dun-dun

As long as I can have a Limo and my orange hair

Dun-a-dun dun-a-dun dun-dun-dun

Sorry folks. Don't mean to make light of this.

 

[wikkidpissah]

CNN currently analyzing his courtroom fakery. Waterboard the biotch.

Thats what should happen but our country is too soft. They should torture the hell out of idiots like this clown. Death penalty or life in prison are easy ways out, if people like this knew they were in for years of torture I bet they think twice.

sharia law baby!

boomboom bada boom bada boom bada boomboomboomCut his toes and fingers off, fingers offLet him bleed out for some time, ShariaGrind his stones to rice pilaf, rice pilafHook his johnson to a power line, ShariaNever gonna stop, give it up, such a naughty mind Get the falcon out, let it peck 'til the Joker's blindHai-ai-ai-ai-ai inshallah M-m-m-my Sharia

 

[moderated]

CNN currently analyzing his courtroom fakery. Waterboard the biotch.

The booby trapped apartment makes me believe more in the courtroom fakery. Have the feeling he planned the aftermath as much as the attack.

I just watched the court video. It just looks like he was trying to not fall asleep after staying up all night.

Not saying it was the case here, but i was an intake (admitting) specialist when i was in the psych biz and the indicted betrayed all the hallmarks of someone trying to fake schiz. There are plenty of rapid & dramatic eye movements with dementia praecox, but the brow rarely comes along for the ride. This Joker was workin more brow than Anthony Davis.

The Joker has green hair, not orange hair.

He wears a red wig in a scene where he shoots up a hospital.

 

[Fennis]

CNN currently analyzing his courtroom fakery. Waterboard the biotch.

Thats what should happen but our country is too soft. They should torture the hell out of idiots like this clown. Death penalty or life in prison are easy ways out, if people like this knew they were in for years of torture I bet they think twice.

sharia law baby!

boomboom bada boom bada boom bada boomboomboomCut his toes and fingers off, fingers offLet him bleed out for some time, ShariaGrind his stones to rice pilaf, rice pilafHook his johnson to a power line, ShariaNever gonna stop, give it up, such a naughty mind Get the falcon out, let it peck 'til the Joker's blindHai-ai-ai-ai-ai inshallah M-m-m-my Sharia

Im a big fan of The Knmoslems

 

[Clifford]

CNN currently analyzing his courtroom fakery. Waterboard the biotch.

Thats what should happen but our country is too soft. They should torture the hell out of idiots like this clown. Death penalty or life in prison are easy ways out, if people like this knew they were in for years of torture I bet they think twice.

I think this would be worse, and more humane:Life in solitary. He has one window, about 12 feet up, a foot by a foot. No communication with anyone, ever. No tv. No books or newspapers. No contact of any kind for life. He'd have to be able to walk or get some exercise, but not outside. Given his age, that could be up to 60 years. I think that would be way worse.

 

[GoBirds]

CNN currently analyzing his courtroom fakery. Waterboard the biotch.

Thats what should happen but our country is too soft. They should torture the hell out of idiots like this clown. Death penalty or life in prison are easy ways out, if people like this knew they were in for years of torture I bet they think twice.

What needs to happen is a swift trial followed by a swift death.

As a taxpayer I agree, as a person I feel scum like this guy and the Sanduskys of the world deserve a little more.

 

[Rayderr]

Forget the death penalty - this joker deserves a more creative fate.

Should have left the apartment armed and ready. Give him one week to talk. Otherwise, he gets blindfolded, spun around five times, and then has to enter the apartment and walk to the other side of the room and back. Hell, make it pay per view with the proceeds going to the families of the victims.

I think we just found the perfect "victim" in making this urban legend come true.

 

[snogger]

CNN currently analyzing his courtroom fakery. Waterboard the biotch.

Thats what should happen but our country is too soft. They should torture the hell out of idiots like this clown. Death penalty or life in prison are easy ways out, if people like this knew they were in for years of torture I bet they think twice.

sharia law baby!

boomboom bada boom bada boom bada boomboomboomCut his toes and fingers off, fingers off

Let him bleed out for some time, Sharia

Grind his stones to rice pilaf, rice pilaf

Hook his johnson to a power line, Sharia

Never gonna stop, give it up, such a naughty mind

Get the falcon out, let it peck 'til the Joker's blind

Hai-ai-ai-ai-ai inshallah M-m-m-my Sharia

Not to be to light in a tragic thread.. But I think Hanover should be sent in

 

[RBM]

CNN currently analyzing his courtroom fakery. Waterboard the biotch.

Thats what should happen but our country is too soft. They should torture the hell out of idiots like this clown. Death penalty or life in prison are easy ways out, if people like this knew they were in for years of torture I bet they think twice.

I think this would be worse, and more humane:Life in solitary. He has one window, about 12 feet up, a foot by a foot. No communication with anyone, ever. No tv. No books or newspapers. No contact of any kind for life. He'd have to be able to walk or get some exercise, but not outside. Given his age, that could be up to 60 years. I think that would be way worse.

Thats great for mental anguish, but this POS deserves some real physical pain as well.

 

[Mario Kart]

The guy is not crazy. The people who are crazy do not look crazy. The guy is acting, poorly, I might add.

Any psychologist that sits on that stand claiming this guy did not know what he was doing or is criminally insane needs to be checked out themselves. Too much premeditation to equate crazy.

Fry the guy.

 

[belljr]

CNN currently analyzing his courtroom fakery. Waterboard the biotch.

Thats what should happen but our country is too soft. They should torture the hell out of idiots like this clown. Death penalty or life in prison are easy ways out, if people like this knew they were in for years of torture I bet they think twice.

I think this would be worse, and more humane:Life in solitary. He has one window, about 12 feet up, a foot by a foot. No communication with anyone, ever. No tv. No books or newspapers. No contact of any kind for life. He'd have to be able to walk or get some exercise, but not outside. Given his age, that could be up to 60 years. I think that would be way worse.

Then his family will sue because he is being treated unfairly... yes that is the world we live in.... /oldguy

 

[Zow]

Actually belljr what gives people the legal teeth to claim inhumane treatment is the 8th amendment... Which was written in 1789. So apparently it's the world we used to live in, not the current one. /young guy annoyed by hyperbolic statements blaming today's academics

 

[belljr]

Actually belljr what gives people the legal teeth to claim inhumane treatment is the 8th amendment... Which was written in 1789. So apparently it's the world we used to live in, not the current one. /young guy annoyed by hyperbolic statements blaming today's academics

I hear you are but is it cruel or unfair for a mass murderer.

 

[Zow]

It serves no good purpose other than to make the sadistic people out there happy. While retribution is an acceptable reason for punishment, such extreme measures should be offset by the fear of this being done to someone innocent and by the damage to our rep as a country. Instead the two more socially pertinent concerns should be to incapacitate this guy and deter others from doing it. Regarding first the latter, it's hard to deter acts of madness (gobirds I'd happily take that bet against you) so it's likely the end punishment be it imprisonment, death, or torture won't prevent this from happening again. That leaves is with incapacitation and that end is met adequately with both the death penalty and life on prison. Frankly, I'd prefer the latter choice there so maybe we can analyze this guy for his motivation and possible mental defects to see if there is anything which can proactively prevent others with similar crazy mindsets from doing it in the future.

 

[belljr]

It serves no good purpose other than to make the sadistic people out there happy. While retribution is an acceptable reason for punishment, such extreme measures should be offset by the fear of this being done to someone innocent and by the damage to our rep as a country. Instead the two more socially pertinent concerns should be to incapacitate this guy and deter others from doing it. Regarding first the latter, it's hard to deter acts of madness (gobirds I'd happily take that bet against you) so it's likely the end punishment be it imprisonment, death, or torture won't prevent this from happening again. That leaves is with incapacitation and that end is met adequately with both the death penalty and life on prison. Frankly, I'd prefer the latter choice there so maybe we can analyze this guy for his motivation and possible mental defects to see if there is anything which can proactively prevent others with similar crazy mindsets from doing it in the future.

That's the problem... In this CASE WE KNOW he is not innocent. I mean there is 0% chance they got the wrong guy. I say in this case, he lost any and all humane acts of kindness.A think a nice public execution may deter people

 

[Plorfu]

Frankly, I'd prefer the latter choice there so maybe we can analyze this guy for his motivation and possible mental defects to see if there is anything which can proactively prevent others with similar crazy mindsets from doing it in the future.

It's hard to sound like an Internet Tough Guy with this approach, though.

 

[ATC1]

CNN currently analyzing his courtroom fakery. Waterboard the biotch.

Thats what should happen but our country is too soft. They should torture the hell out of idiots like this clown. Death penalty or life in prison are easy ways out, if people like this knew they were in for years of torture I bet they think twice.

I think this would be worse, and more humane:Life in solitary. He has one window, about 12 feet up, a foot by a foot. No communication with anyone, ever. No tv. No books or newspapers. No contact of any kind for life. He'd have to be able to walk or get some exercise, but not outside. Given his age, that could be up to 60 years. I think that would be way worse.

This would work. We need a 24 live feed on the internet. Vegas odds of how long it would take before he tries to bash his head in against the wall of his cell.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

What needs to happen is a swift trial followed by a swift death.

 

[identikit]

CNN currently analyzing his courtroom fakery. Waterboard the biotch.

Thats what should happen but our country is too soft. They should torture the hell out of idiots like this clown. Death penalty or life in prison are easy ways out, if people like this knew they were in for years of torture I bet they think twice.

I think this would be worse, and more humane:Life in solitary. He has one window, about 12 feet up, a foot by a foot. No communication with anyone, ever. No tv. No books or newspapers. No contact of any kind for life. He'd have to be able to walk or get some exercise, but not outside. Given his age, that could be up to 60 years. I think that would be way worse.

This would work. We need a 24 live feed on the internet. Vegas odds of how long it would take before he tries to bash his head in against the wall of his cell.

He doesn't deserve a reward of our attention.

 

[Zow]

A public execution? So he can be famously vilified and other crazies seeking attention see a clear way to get it? That's a horrible idea.

This guy needs to go the way of dahmer. Get studied and then be a page 7 afterthought when he is killed in prison.

 

[belljr]

A public execution? So he can be famously vilified and other crazies seeking attention see a clear way to get it? That's a horrible idea.

This guy needs to go the way of dahmer. Get studied and then be a page 7 afterthought when he is killed in prison.

probably true

 

[Godsbrother]

CNN currently analyzing his courtroom fakery. Waterboard the biotch.

Thats what should happen but our country is too soft. They should torture the hell out of idiots like this clown. Death penalty or life in prison are easy ways out, if people like this knew they were in for years of torture I bet they think twice.

I think this would be worse, and more humane:Life in solitary. He has one window, about 12 feet up, a foot by a foot. No communication with anyone, ever. No tv. No books or newspapers. No contact of any kind for life. He'd have to be able to walk or get some exercise, but not outside. Given his age, that could be up to 60 years. I think that would be way worse.

This guy is out of his mind so I am not sure he would even realize he is in solitary and facing 60 years.

 

[snogger]

A public execution? So he can be famously vilified and other crazies seeking attention see a clear way to get it? That's a horrible idea.

This guy needs to go the way of dahmer. Get studied and then be a page 7 afterthought when he is killed in prison.

I just told my wife last night that this guy will have to be kept in solitary confinement for as long as he lives otherwise he will get "Dahmered" .

 

[TobiasFunke]

Gotta wonder how many people who favor strict adherence to Constitutional principles and the sanctity of that document with respect to other issues- like say gun control- are advocating that we pretty much tear the document in half and throw it in the trash when it comes time to sentence this guy.

Second Amendment: Read it!

Eighth Amendment: Take a dump on it!

 

[belljr]

Gotta wonder how many people who favor strict adherence to Constitutional principles and the sanctity of that document with respect to other issues- like say gun control- are advocating that we pretty much tear the document in half and throw it in the trash when it comes time to sentence this guy.Second Amendment: Read it!Eighth Amendment: Take a dump on it!

Not sure if this was directed at me but my only issue with the 2nd amendment is jump to heavy arsenal and automatic type weapons. I know this guy is nuts and I really don't have issue with owning a handgun / hunting rifles. As far as the 8th - I have no problem with "trashing" it. To me there is nothing cruel or unusual when it comes to this type of crime. I don't venture into these types of threads often so forgive my phone typing points if they stink

 

[CBusAlex]

I think we should torture the guy to death, torture his whole family to death, and then nuke his hometown, just for good measure.

Top that, suckers!

 

[Fennis]

I think we should torture the guy to death, torture his whole family to death, and then nuke his hometown, just for good measure.Top that, suckers!

I'd wipe out the entire country he came from since it produces such nut cases.

 

[TobiasFunke]

Gotta wonder how many people who favor strict adherence to Constitutional principles and the sanctity of that document with respect to other issues- like say gun control- are advocating that we pretty much tear the document in half and throw it in the trash when it comes time to sentence this guy.Second Amendment: Read it!Eighth Amendment: Take a dump on it!

Not sure if this was directed at me but my only issue with the 2nd amendment is jump to heavy arsenal and automatic type weapons. I know this guy is nuts and I really don't have issue with owning a handgun / hunting rifles. As far as the 8th - I have no problem with "trashing" it. To me there is nothing cruel or unusual when it comes to this type of crime. I don't venture into these types of threads often so forgive my phone typing points if they stink

More of a generic post, not really aimed at anyone in particular. I just find it odd that so many people are so militant in their defense of nine of the ten amendments of the Bill of Right, treating it as the holiest of holy documents, but so willing to completely disregard the 8th to satisfy a thirst for revenge that ultimately changes nothing and protects no one.

 

[proninja]

I haven't been following this thread at all, but I was struck while reading about this guy that I think it's pretty ridiculous that a certain segment of the population is using this incident to push for the right to own assault rifles while simultaneously fighting against a world in which this guy would have had health care.

Just what kind of world do you people want to live in?

 

[Plorfu]

I think we should torture the guy to death, torture his whole family to death, and then nuke his hometown, just for good measure.Top that, suckers!

I want to torture him to near death just to keep the torture going until we figure out to kill and revive, then we'll just do torture until he dies and then we'll keep reviving and do that forever. Also his family. And nuking is too quick for the hometown people, so we'll do the torture/kill/revive thing with them too. Besides, we need the nukes for the Middle East.I'm angrier and tougher on crime than you! And I added Muslims! Suck it, pansy!

 

[mad sweeney]

Thought this was a great story. Some might think its an amazing coincidence. I don't believe in coincidences.

A Miracle Inside the Aurora Shooting: One Victim's Story

At Columbine, I have seen this before. But not up close. As a church pastor in Denver, I have worked as a chaplain with several police and fire departments. I was privileged to counsel parents just hours after the Littleton Columbine shootings. However, in this new tragedy at the Aurora Theater Dark Night shooting, one of the victims was a 22 year old woman from my church, Petra Anderson (pronounced Pay-tra). Petra went to the movies with two young friends who are biking across America. You and I have been inundated with news about what happened next. A joyful movie turned into bloody, unbelievable chaos. Petra was hit four times with a shot-gun blast, three shots into her arm and one bullet which entered her brain. This a bit of Petra's miracle story.

With awesome people from our caring and pastoral team, I spent all day Friday in the ICU with Petra and her family. Her injuries were severe, and her condition was critical. A bullet had entered Petra's face through her nose, and then traveled up through her brain until stopping at the back of her skull. The doctors prior to surgery were concerned, because so much of the brain had been traversed by the bullet. Many areas of brain function were involved. They were hoping to keep her alive long enough to get her into surgery. The prognosis was uncertain—if she lived, Petra might struggle with speech, movement, and thinking due to considerable brain damage. With Kim, Petra's mother (who is in the final stages of terminal cancer), we simply cried, hugged, and prayed.

It is pressed into my memory now. Motion and emotion…

Other families come and go into the ICU waiting room. Some sit with us, and we talk. Others are visited by doctors with "Family Advocates" in tow. The families listen, sob, and then are moved like stunned cattle to a more private space to grieve. We pray. Petra is finally taken into surgery, using two different surgical teams. One team of neurosurgeons will open up the back of her skull to remove the bullet and clean up brain damage as best they can. Another ENT-specialty surgical team will then work through Petra's nose by scope to follow the bullet's path up into her brain. Their hope is to remove bone fragments, clean up damaged brain tissue, and reseal her brain to reduce infection.

If you have lived any of your days in a hospital waiting room, you know how long the enduring process is. It has a woeful pattern to it. Sit. Walk. Grab a drink. Sit. Walk. Answer a phone call. Sit. Walk. Hug someone. Sit. Talk to the FBI. Sit. Pick at the food. Sit. Walk. Go down the hall, but not too far because you're afraid to miss something. Back. Hug. Pray. Sit. Sit. A picture of a five year old waiting for next Christmas from January 1st comes to my mind. FOREVER. Only this feels worse: a heavy forever, with no promise of presents, Santa, or good news at the end.

After the waiting drags for over five hours, tired doctors and nurses spill back into the room, one or two at a time. I look for "Family Advocates" but can find none. I exhale. The doctors update us: "It went well, and she's recovering now. We found very little damage to the brain, and got the bullet out cleanly. It went better than we hoped for." Each brings a warrior's smile, and a bit of information—information that we turn into hope as we regurgitate it over the next hours. Still, the medical team remains professional and reserved, "Something might still go wrong. We just need to wait and see if she makes it for the next 48 hours."

Tears and thank you's abound. We are so thankful for these men and women. We hug. Everyone hugs. Then, round two. Sit. Wait. Pray. Fully dressed people cuddle into small snails and try to sleep on the floor. Some are shuttled to a room donated by the Holiday Inn across the street. Thank you, Lord, for every little thing. We sit. We pray. "We'll understand better tomorrow."

Petra is moved back to ICU. She looks, surprisingly, wonderful. With a small hole in her nose, and her arm wrapped, she almost looks uninjured. She is medicated and sleeping when I come to visit her on Saturday. I sit, talk, and pray quietly with Kim amid the darkened room, lit by glowing medical screens and power switches. Nurses, like quiet soldiers posted on guard, come in, march attentively through the machines, and go out. These men and women really care. Finally, one of the surgeons comes in to check on Petra. He has had some sleep, and looks more like a movie star this time. As Petra sleeps, he retells the story of the surgery, and we ask questions. The doctor reads the perfect script, as if he is on Hallmark Hall of Fame. He fills us in on the miracle. Honestly, he doesn't call it that, he just uses words like "happily" and "wonderfully" and "in a very fortunate way" and "luckily" and "we were really surprised by that." Kim and I know a miracle when we see it.

It seems as if the bullet traveled through Petra's brain without hitting any significant brain areas. The doctor explains that Petra's brain has had from birth a small "defect" in it. It is a tiny channel of fluid running through her skull, like a tiny vein through marble, or a small hole in an oak board, winding from front to rear. Only a CAT scan would catch it, and Petra would have never noticed it.

But in Petra's case, the shotgun buck shot, maybe even the size used for deer hunting, enters her brain from the exact point of this defect. Like a marble through a small tube, the defect channels the bullet from Petra's nose through her brain. It turns slightly several times, and comes to rest at the rear of her brain. And in the process, the bullet misses all the vital areas of the brain. In many ways, it almost misses the brain itself. Like a giant BB though a straw created in Petra's brain before she was born, it follows the route of the defect. It is channeled in the least harmful way. A millimeter in any direction and the channel is missed. The brain is destroyed. Evil wins a round.

As he shares, the doctor seems taken aback. It is an odd thing to have a surgeon show a bit of wonder. Professionally, these guys own the universe, it seems, and take everything in stride. He is obviously gifted as a surgeon, and is kind in his manner. "It couldn't have gone better. If it were my daughter," he says quietly, glancing around to see if any of his colleagues might be watching him, "I'd be ecstatic. I'd be dancing a jig." He smiles. I can't keep my smile back, or the tears of joy. In Christianity we call it prevenient grace: God working ahead of time for a particular event in the future. It's just like the God I follow to plan the route of a bullet through a brain long before Batman ever rises. Twenty-two years before.

While we're talking, Petra awakes. She opens her eyes, and sits up, "Mom." Movie-star doctor spins to grab her, to protect her from falling. The nurse assures him she's been doing this for a while. He talks to her, and she talks back. He asks questions, and Petra has the right answers. "Where do you hurt, Petra?" "All over." Amazed, but professional, he smiles and leaves the set shaking his head. I am so thankful for this man.

Petra is groggy and beat up, but she is herself. Honestly, I look worse before my morning coffee. "I'm thirsty," she proclaims.

"You want an ice cube, honey?" Kim replies.

"Please." Wow. She lays down, back to sleep, a living miracle who doesn't even know it yet. Good flowering out of the refuse pile of a truly dark night. "Thank you, Jesus," I whisper.

Petra, you are amazing. Kim, you, too, are amazing. I am so proud of you both. But God, you are in a league of your own. (Duh.)

There is much ahead. More surgerys. Facial reconstruction, perhaps. And for Kim, chemo therapy to stretch every moment out of life. But life remains.The ending is yet to be written for this family

.

wow thats wild.

Now that's a miracle.

Glad the person is alive, and may well be alive because of the defect. But the story (especially the bolded) wreaks of hyperbole. Sorry.

It's nice to know God planned this massacre back when she was born instead of coming up with it on the spot.

 

[Zeff]

I haven't been following this thread at all, but I was struck while reading about this guy that I think it's pretty ridiculous that a certain segment of the population is using this incident to push for the right to own assault rifles while simultaneously fighting against a world in which this guy would have had health care.

Just what kind of world do you people want to live in?

The kind they're told they want to live in.