Jury reaches verdict in ‘Batman’ massacre

“Look at the evidence, then hold this man accountable”, Arapahoe County District Attorney George Brauchler said.

The same panel must now decide whether Holmes should pay with his life. They are also likely to present information about his mental illness.

A Colorado jury on Thursday convicted 27-year-old James Holmes of killing 12 moviegoers and wounding dozens of others in a suburban Denver movie theater in 2012. 60 minutes to read the verdict on all 165 counts. Victims and their families wept and comforted one another in the courtroom during the hourlong recitation of each verdict, holding hands and nodding their heads with satisfaction when their loved ones’ names were read.

“As soon as you heard the first guilty, we knew all the dominoes were about to fall”, said Tom Sullivan, whose son Alex died in the shooting. The next phase of the trial will address Holmes’ sentencing.

Experts say the sentencing phase could prove even more emotionally wrenching as survivors describe the impact of the shooting on their daily lives. Though jurors swiftly rejected Holmes’ insanity defense, that doesn’t mean they will come to a speedy conclusion about his punishment. 12 people were killed in the shooting with many others severely injured and traumatized from the attack.

3 years after the incident, as Judge Carlos A. Samour Jr. read all the charges, each one ending with being “guilty”, Holmes stood numb with his hands in his pockets for nearly an hour in a blue shirt and khakis.

The emotion of the trial – its wrenching testimony and life-or-death stakes – intensified as the verdict was read in the hushed courtroom.

“If it’s a death penalty sentence, the state of Colorado automatically allows, or grants an appeal on behalf of the defendant”, said Don Alan “Mo” Frederick, Attorney at Law.

Holmes, 27, who had been charged with 166 counts, had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

“We are very happy that this animal, that this monster, will never see the light of day”. “It feels good to have this weight off our backs”, Sandy Ghawl said.

Holmes was found guilty on two counts of first-degree murder for each of the 12 victims killed in the July 20, 2012 mass shooting.

Based on the defense team’s statements in court Thursday evening, that phase of the case is only expected to last a few hours but the jury does have to deliberate and agree to move on.

Holmes had no previous criminal record when he entered the Aurora cinema with a pistol, assault rifle and shotgun.

The prosecution argued that Holmes’ detailed preparations for the attack showed that he knew what he was doing, and knew it was wrong. They painted him as a calculated killer who sought to assuage his failures in school and romance with a mass murder that he believed would increase his personal worth. They recalled the panic to escape the gunman.

He was also found guilty on one count regarding the possession of an explosive or incendiary device for several home-made bombs he set up inside his nearby Aurora apartment.

But Holmes’ defense lawyer Dan King insisted his client was insane, saying: “The fact of the matter is that when Mr Holmes stepped into that theater… he had lost touch with reality”.

Two court-appointed psychiatrists who interviewed Holmes from jail testified that they determined he suffered from mental illness but was legally sane.