‘Batman’ shooter moves closer to death penalty

The mother of Jessica Ghawi (GOW’-ee), an aspiring sports broadcaster killed by Holmes, said she was feeling a little overwhelmed about taking the stand. But Sandy Phillips said it’s her job to share her daughter’s story and vowed to do the best she could.

The most gripping testimony during the mitigation phase came from Holmes’ parents, who had made only limited public statements since the massacre in 2012. The jury found that Holmes’ mental problems and the portrait his attorneys painted of a kinder, gentler man did not outweigh the horrors of his calculated attack on defenseless moviegoers.

Today the jurors voted unanimously towards “phase three” where they will decide if Holmes should be executed. Robert held a box of tissues for her. There were more tears elsewhere in the courtroom. Now, the proceedings move into the third and final phase, which determines whether Holmes will get the death penalty for his crimes.

In this image made from Colorado Judicial Department video, James Holmes, second from left in blue shirt, stands with his defense team as Judge Carlos A. Samour, Jr., reads the jury’s sentencing verdict in the Colorado theater shooting trial in Centennial, Colo., on Monday, August 3, 2015. Had even one broken ranks yesterday then the worst that Holmes would have faced would have be life in prison without the possibility of parole.

[Jurors were allowed to stay despite seeing news about the Lafayette, La., movie theater shooting].

The jury in the Colorado theater shooting trial has again declined to rule out the death penalty as it moves toward sentencing James Holmes.

Throughout its closing arguments the prosecution reminded the jurors of the faces of the 12 people who died.

Defense attorneys called a parade of family members, elementary school teachers, former neighbors and childhood friends over the course of four days to try to convince the panel of nine women and three men that the 27-year-old’s life should be spared.

Tom Sullivan, whose son Alex was killed while celebrating his 27th birthday, said, “This is a good day” as he entered the courthouse in suburban Denver.

As they have throughout the trial, Holmes’ lawyers objected to photos and testimony they said was repetitive and overly dramatic.

Jurors deliberated for less than three hours before reaching their latest decision.

A court spokesman said the decision would be announced at 12:30 p.m. MDT.

In the 2012 attack, 12 people were killed while they watched Batman movie The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, and another 70 wounded.