Jurors Reject Mental Illness Argument For Colorado Supermarket Gunman
Lawyers for the gunman, who fatally shot 10 people in a Boulder grocery store in 2021, tried to argue his mental illness made him incapable of knowing right from wrong. Jurors disagreed. Other news includes a battle over a DuPont trust, the drug-related death of a trans activist, and more.
The New York Times:
Gunman Convicted Of Murdering 10 At A Colorado Supermarket
The man who fatally shot 10 people at a Boulder, Colo., grocery store in 2021 was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison on Monday. Jurors rejected his lawyers’ argument that mental illness had made him unable to distinguish right from wrong. The verdict followed about two weeks of testimony that focused on the mind-set of the gunman, Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, at the time of the shooting. Mr. Alissa, now 25, was diagnosed with schizophrenia after the attack. His lawyers admitted that he had carried out the shooting, but they said he was so unwell at the time that he could not know that what he was doing was wrong. (Bogel-Burroughs, 9/23)
More health news from across the U.S. —
Health News Florida:
Moody Takes DuPont Money Fight With Delaware To The Florida Supreme Court
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and representatives of a trust tied to the late industrialist Alfred I. duPont have gone to the Florida Supreme Court in a battle about whether Delaware — duPont’s native state — has been shortchanged in the distribution of money. ... The appellate ruling was part of decades of legal wrangling about a duPont charitable trust and the nonprofit Nemours Foundation, which was created with money from the trust and provides pediatric medical care in Florida and other states. (9/23)
The New York Times:
2 Plead Guilty in Drug-Related Death of Prominent Transgender Activist
Two men accused of providing the fentanyl-laced heroin that killed the transgender activist and actress Cecilia Gentili have admitted distributing the drugs that caused her death, officials said on Monday. In addition to her work as an actress, which included a role on the television show “Pose,” Ms. Gentili was known for her advocacy on behalf of sex workers, transgender people and people with H.I.V. (Colon, 9/23)
Health News Florida:
Florida Learns About Suicide Prevention From Parents That Experienced Loss Firsthand
Chris and Martha Thomas are busy in September. It’s National Suicide Prevention Month. They lost their daughter Ella to suicide 6½ years ago. Now they teach others how to recognize the signs. It’s part of an effort to keep other families from experiencing an unimaginable loss. (Menzel, 9/23)
If you need help —
Dial 988 for 24/7 support from the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It's free and confidential.
