Thank you all for your comments, which in retrospect, I now totally accept, due mostly to the flurry of very sensible posts by you all.

Because, asshole, trial by jury is a basic human right.

That's your anger talking. It's justified, you bet, but can't get in the way of a justice system that replaces lynchings. If that door is opened up, heaven help us.

IT is not pointless. It is the due legal process in a civilised country. Whether he pled guilty of innocent there would still be a trial before a jury. The evidence is such that he is bound to be found guilty.

1. I doubt it will cost "millions". The cost will be well into the thousands, but this is the nature of such things.

2. It is not a "pointless exercise". This proceeding reaffirms the rule of law in civilized society. It is, first of all, necessary to establish beyond doubt the guilt of this individual and do all we can to nullify those who would try to portray him as some kind of "hero" in their warped ideologies. We must establish the sequence of events, painful as that will be. The forensic evidence must be seen.

Finally, what would you suggest be done with this "absolutely guilty madman"? You say he deserves to be wiped off the face of the earth. I do not disagree. But to execute him ABSOLUTELY REQUIRES the process of trial by jury and a finding of fact. If not execution, then life imprisonment; which likewise requires a trial by jury, in our civilized societies. Without a trial, to simply lock someone away for life or dispose of them makes us barbarians. It puts us on the level of this murderer.

And while we may derive a visceral satisfaction from such revenge, it is fleeting at best. It doesn't last. It sickens us individually and it sickens our society. Those it does not sicken aren't fit to live in civilized society.