Edhat Staff
By edhat staff
Nicholas Holzer was sentenced to life in prison on Friday for murdering his parents, two young sons, and the family dog.
On August 11, 2014, Holzer admitted to killing 73-year-old William Holzer, 74-year-old Sheila Holzer, 13-year-old Sebastian Holzer, 10-year-old Vincent Holzer and the family dog, Dixie.
Holzer was given four life sentences, one for each family member killed, without the possibility of parole. He was also given an additional three years for cruelty to an animal, plus five years for using a knife in the commission of the crime.
This past June, Judge Brian Hill ruled that defendant Holzer was sane after a five-week sanity trial.
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June 29, 2018: Judge Rules Nicholas Holzer was Sane when Murdering Family
That’s it? I wonder why the death penalty wasn’t pursued.
Should have got death.
I would have pushed for death too but now he will have to think about them every single day. His brain will punish him more than anything else could.
Even though he was ruled sane enough to stand trial, he has a serious mental disorder. I would not for a minute think that he would be tormented by memories of killing the people he loved. If you’ve had the misfortune to know people like him, you understand that things are very, very different inside their skulls.
“he has a serious mental disorder”
Yes, this is something easily learned by spending a few seconds of research, but that’s apparently not a thought that comes to the mind of the intellectually lazy reactionaries who are quick to call for death in a case that doesn’t allow for it. I wonder whether, deep in the gray mush in their heads, a neuron or two tried to make sense of why the judge bothered to add three years for killing the dog on top of four life sentences. Had Holzer been treated for his mental illness, his family might still be alive, but authoritarian reactionaries view that as “coddling criminals” and a “liberal bleeding heart” outlook; they are far more interested in punishing people than in preventing crime and other bad outcomes. Most of these reactionaries were abused as children and are passing it on.
“Had Holzer been treated for his mental illness, his family might still be alive…”
Perhaps, but if you’ve been close to someone with such a disorder, you know that the patient cannot be forced to accept any kind of therapy, and even if he does accept it, a real cure does not exist, and relapses are common even with treatment.
Try to think, Rex. Had he been found legally insane during his 5 week sanity hearing, he would have ended up in a mental facility, but he wasn’t … he’s been convicted of murder so that’s not an option, but the sentencing order includes a recommendation that Holzer be placed in a prison setting that maximizes the opportunity of mental-health treatment. Being imprisoned doesn’t require mental stability, so “If he’s mentally stable enough to be imprisoned” is meaningless drivel, mindless sloganeering like “Taxin’ Jackson” that doesn’t reflect well on you. The fact is that he is being imprisoned for life for committing these murders, AND he is extremely mentally ill, but not legally insane (which is based on an ancient criterion that isn’t scientifically based).
A number of commentators on this thread emphasize this sleazoid’s alleged mental illness and then come to various conclusions from that starting point. The fact is that to whatever minor extent this scum was crazy his craziness was overshadowed by his evil and his anger. The lives he destroyed were the lives of wonderful people ; kind, heroic, generous, and exemplary. A terrible loss to the community.
Never allow yourselves to wallow in ingratitude, people. That is what led to this terrible evil.
It’s not merely “alleged”, and it wasn’t a “minor extent”, and “ingratitude” had nothing to do with it. Try to control your own anger to the point where you can be honest. Everyone agrees that his acts were evil, that he destroyed the lives of wonderful people, and that it’s a terrible loss.
When the death penalty is enforced on a killer they do not kill again. Nowadays just about every crime it seems is committed due to some mental illness it gives criminals an excuse, there is no excuse in Murder. Of course in the business of justice with all it’s big words there is, but not to me.
Implementing the death penalty is expensive because the process is screwed up.
Some people deserve it.
If he’s that mentally disturbed he should be in a mental facility. If he’s mentally stable enough to be imprisoned, he’s mentally stable enough to be executed, as the law allows.
Roger, I very much appreciate your honesty. Sometimes that means getting dog piled by trolls, (or should it be trolled by dog piles?). Express yourself and don’t let negative comments get you down. Thanks for everything you do for Edhat!
“Everyone is entitled to thee opinions […] why don’t you mind your own business.”
No comment.
“That’s it? ”
Life in prison with no chance of parole is not a walk in the park.
“I wonder why the death penalty wasn’t pursued.”
You don’t know that it wasn’t pursued; all you know is that it wasn’t imposed. Perhaps because the appeals process takes 25 years on average and because it’s been 12 years since anyone was executed in California due to the difficulty of doing so without violating the the Eighth Amendment, and because the Innocence Project proven numerous cases of people wrongly put on death row (not this guy, obviously) and racial bias in sentencing (not this guy, obviously), and because the rest of the civilized world has rejected the death penalty.
But, looking into this beyond EdHat’s context-free post, apparently Holzer — despite being determined to be sane at time of trial — is deeply mentally ill, and was in the throes of psychotic delusions at the time of the murders, and apparently the mandatory sentence guidelines do not allow the death penalty under those circumstances.
I totally agree with you. It’s best to join the fray without a mask.
Considering the nature of his crime, I’d say his death by vigilante justice in prison is likely. Since he evades the noose, even though he is clearly guilty, someone else inside who has nothing to lose can act as the executioner.