Judge set to sentence Colorado theater shooter to life

Holmes’ sentencing hearing was largely symbolic but gave scores of victims an unprecedented chance to vent their feelings to the judge.

When another victim suggested a juror opposed to Holmes’ execution must have concealed an anti-death penalty stance during the selection process, the judge rejected the allegation and said there was no evidence anyone on the panel had been “deceptive or did anything improper”.

But the final sentencing comes Wednesday morning, when Judge Carlos A. Samour Jr. sentences him on more than 100 other criminal convictions, from attempted murder to weapons charges.

The Colorado theater shooter has no chance of getting released for good behavior.

Defense lawyers said Holmes would have pleaded guilty two years ago if prosecutors had taken the death penalty off the table. He recalled his granddaughter, 6-year-old Veronica Moser-Sullivan, as a sweet, sensitive, angelic and innocent little girl who “has and will always remain in those hallowed reaches in my heart and mind”.

Colorado prisons officials will determine where Holmes will be incarcerated after an evaluation that includes his mental health.

“The message is the state of Colorado values a mass murderer more than the lives of those he murdered”, she said, speaking from a lectern facing Samour and occasionally turning toward the attorneys and the packed gallery behind her. He pointed out that the mandatory life sentences, and the decision not to appeal, means the case ends now and the victims can finally move on with their lives. Wingo, who was killed in the shooting, was a single mother of two daughters.

Holmes’ attorneys blamed the massacre on his schizophrenia and psychotic delusions, and experts testified that it wouldn’t have happened if he were not seriously mentally ill.

“We are unable to pick up the phone and say ‘Hi, how are you doing?’ We are unable to write them…” She added that she is now always cautious and aware of her surroundings, “but no person should ever have to feel like that”.

Almost 100 people testified or read victim statements.

Some said they wished the jury had sentenced him to die, and others said they hope for him a lonely life contemplating the pain he caused.

Some survivors complained that Holmes will serve life in prison instead of being executed. Many asked District Court Judge Carlos Samour to hand down the maximum sentence.

“Imagine telling your child that monsters are real and not to be afraid of the dark when you’re scared of the dark yourself”, said another survivor, Stephanie Davies, who also has an 8-month-old son.

Holmes was convicted of 24 counts of murder last month for the 2012 attack. Holmes killed 12 people and injured 70 by firing upon a midnight movie showing of a Batman film.

The conclusion of the three-day final sentencing hearing is a formality. Jurors already determined Holmes will spend the rest of his life in prison without parole. Samour has not set a limit on the number of people who can testify at the hearing.