Last October, James Holmes, the convicted killer in the 2012 Aurora, Col., theater shooting, was attacked in prison by another inmate. He has since been transferred to another prison, the location of which is being kept a secret, but which is outside of Colorado. A former federal government corrections official, Bob Hood, called it a “dump job.” Hood says Holmes will always be a target in prison, and the Colorado prison where he was previously housed could easily have put him in a secure setting to protect from further attacks. The transfer occurred in January.
The assault, by inmate Mark “Slim” Daniels, caused no injuries to Holmes. It occurred as Holmes was leaving a prison office with his case manager. Daniels squeezed through the door as another corrections officer opened it. Holmes was struck “in and around his head” before Daniels was pulled away. A corrections officer was also hit in the face and head in the resulting melee.
Holmes had been held in a pod by himself, where authorities closely monitored him. Steve Hager, Colorado Prisons Director, said that prison officials were not allowing Holmes to come into contact with other offenders. He says that there were many concerns that prompted the secret move, and that the attack was only one. Holmes had been at the prison for more than 5 weeks before the October attack, but prison officials were still deciding on the best way to house him.
Hager said no procedures were violated and no mistakes were made. According to the Christian Science Monitor, Hood told ABC News that he does not agree. “Clearly someone dropped the ball.” He says other inmates should never been allowed to make contact with Holmes, and called it a “very serious breach of security.”
George Brauchler, the local District Attorney who prosecuted Holmes, is displeased that he was moved out of state, saying he should be serving his sentence in Colorado. Brauchler also says that, if the sentence is not to be served in Colorado, the public deserves to know where Holmes is and why he is there. Brauchler told ABC news that there is a federal inmate locator that shows the location of all federal inmates. He considers Holmes’ secret move as an admission that the state prison system is not as safe as the federal system.
Although receiving letters of support, some which include money, Daniels was punished for the attack, receiving 60 days in segregation, 45 days loss of privileges, and a year in restricted housing. In a letter to Denver’s Westword newspaper , Daniels writes “I’m so sorry that I couldn’t wipe him out and sent him packing to Satan’s lake of fire.”
Holmes is currently serving a sentence of life without parole plus 3,318 years, for skilling 12 people and injuring 70 others on July 20, 2012. He opened fire at the Century theater in Aurora during the opening-night showing of The Dark Knight Rises. Prison officials believe that inmates will continue to target Holmes due to the high-profile crimes he is convicted of.